TRANSPORT

Buses: Fares

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timescale has been established for the roll-out of smartcard technology on buses in England; whether it is policy that all buses should be smartcard-enabled; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The Department for Transport would like all buses in England to eventually be smartcard enabled. To help achieve this, we have specified that all concessionary travel passes must be smartcards and have announced our intention to pay a higher rate of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) for buses that use such technology. We anticipate that as a result of these initiatives there will be a transformation in the availability of smart card systems and the use of smart cards over the course of this decade.
	Work is under way on a ticketing strategy for England, which will encompass smart ticketing. The intention is to publish a consultation paper in the spring and officials are currently meeting with key stakeholders to inform the development of the consultation.

Carbon Emissions: EC Law

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on the implementation of EC Regulations  (a) 715/2007 and  (b) 692/2008 on replacement catalytic converters.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. However, under the terms of directive 98/34/EC, the Department for Transport recently notified the Commission of certain additional domestic provisions which are included in the UK's regulations implementing the EU legislation. These provisions require replacement catalytic converters which are not subject to the EU requirements to be labelled accordingly. The Government consider these provisions to be essential to ensure effective enforcement and hence to fully achieve the objectives of the EU legislation.

Departmental Equality

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the milestones set out on page 7 of his Department's human resources Race Equality Action Plan 2005 to 2008 were not achieved.

Geoff Hoon: Two of the milestones on page 7 of the Race Equality Action Plan 2005 to 2008 were not fully achieved. These were:
	"publish analysis (of diversity monitoring data) annually" - some information was not published in year, however, all of the information for the years 2005 to 2008 has now been published.
	"ensure that external recruitment agencies ... collect and supply ethnicity-monitoring data..." - information has not been available for external recruitment from one contractor for campaigns run in the year 2007-08.

Departmental Leave

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of his Department's bargaining units grant disability leave to staff.

Geoff Hoon: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Driving Standards Agency and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency grant disability leave to staff. In other bargaining units, requests for time off for disability-related medical appointments and rehabilitation are considered on a case by case basis.

Departmental Recycling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) paper,  (b) plastic and  (c) other waste has been produced by his Department in each of the last three years; and how much of that waste was recycled.

Geoff Hoon: The figures for the Department for Transport for the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			   Total waste (Tonnes)  Recycled waste (Tonnes)  Waste recycled (Percentage) 
			 2005-06 4,300 3,014 70.1 
			 2006-07 3,878 2,214 57.1 
			 2007-08 3,711 2,015 54.3 
		
	
	Very few parts of the Department for Transport are able to calculate the specific volumes of paper and plastic waste generated. However, the following data represent the departmental figures for the specified waste streams.
	
		
			  Tonnes 
			   Recycled paper waste  Recycled plastic waste  Other waste recycled 
			 2005-06 1,325 4 1,685 
			 2006-07 1,297 4 913 
			 2007-08 1,227 5 783

Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency: Debts

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the performance of Moorcroft Debt Recovery Ltd; what conclusions he reached; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The performance of Moorcroft Debt Recovery Ltd. is monitored on a regular basis.

Driving Standards Agency: Alcoholic Drinks

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Driving Standards Agency spent on alcohol in relation to its operations conference in September 2008.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driving Standards Agency spent £1,429.64 on drinks served at the Operations Conference in September 2008. This amounted to slightly under £10 per delegate.

Driving Tests

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of scheduled driving tests have been cancelled by the Driving Standards Agency in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 2 February 2009
	The proportion of scheduled driving tests that have been cancelled by the Driving Standards Agency in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			   Total cancellations (Percentage) 
			 2003-04 4.4 
			 2004-05 3.7 
			 2005-06 3.0 
			 2006-07 4.1 
			 2007-08 5.8 
		
	
	The majority of these tests were cancelled as a result of bad weather or were cancelled outside of the short notice period.

Infrastructure Policy Statements

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the infrastructure policy statements for  (a) ports,  (b) surface networks and  (c) aviation to be published.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 3 February 2009
	I expect to publish a draft National Policy Statement (NPS) for ports this summer for consultation, with a view to designation early in 2010; to publish a draft NPS for National Networks (strategic highways and railways, including strategic rail freight interchanges) for consultation this autumn, with a view to designation later in 2010; and to publish a draft NPS for airports by 2011.

Oil: Prices

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assumptions on the price of oil his Department used in developing its High Level Output Statement; and whether he plans to revise such assumptions.

Paul Clark: The oil price assumptions used in the High Level Output Statement were taken from the National Transport Model and the Department for Transport (DFT) Appraisal Guidance, details of which are available on the DFT website at
	www.dft.gsi.gov.uk.
	These forecasts are kept under review and updated as necessary.

Public Transport: Concessions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set for the transfer of responsibility for concessionary fares from district to county councils.

Paul Clark: holding answer  3 February 2009
	We shall shortly be consulting on possible changes to the administration of concessionary travel. These will include the possibility of moving responsibility for administering concessionary travel from district to county councils or centralising the scheme.

Railways: Freight

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Railfreight Interchange Investment Group on financial support for the development of railfreight interchanges.

Paul Clark: There have been no recent discussions between Ministers with the Railfreight Interchange Investment Group on the provision of financial support for the development of railfreight interchanges.

Railways: Freight

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the development of railfreight interchanges will be subject to a National Planning Policy Statement under the Planning Act 2008.

Paul Clark: The development of strategic railfreight interchanges, as specified under the Planning Act 2008, will be part of a National Policy Statement.

Railways: Freight

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the process is for reviewing and updating the railfreight interchange policy.

Paul Clark: The policy relating to strategic railfreight interchanges will be updated as part of the appropriate National Policy Statement. This review of the current published policy is being undertaken and will be the subject of consultation when published.

Railways: Freight

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he is holding with the Railfreight Interchange Investment Group on the development of the Department's policy on railfreight interchanges.

Paul Clark: Although there is ongoing contact between officials and the Railfreight Interchange Investment Group, there are no discussions taking place with the group on the development of the Department for Transport's policy on railfreight interchanges at present.

Road Traffic

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the percentage change in traffic levels  (a) on English roads and  (b) on roads in each county within England was in each year since 1997, taking 1997 levels as 100 per cent.

Paul Clark: A table providing traffic volumes for all motor vehicles on all roads for  (a) English roads and  (b) each local highway authority in England has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The figures provided in the table are for the period 1997 to 2007 and are indexed to 1997. More recent data for 2008 will be published during summer 2009.
	Traffic estimates at local highway authority level are not designated as National Statistics and are therefore not as robust as the national estimates. Some discontinuities exist in the data between various years for certain local highways authorities. These are caused by the Department for Transport collecting an increased number of road counts in particular years, which allows the Department to make traffic volume series in subsequent years more accurate.
	Road traffic by local highway authority can be found on the Department's website at the following web address:
	www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/roadstraffic/traffic/rtstatisticsla/

Road Traffic: Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) locations and  (b) roads in (i) the Metropolitan police area of London, (ii) Essex and (iii) Hertfordshire are where enforcement cameras to police no overtaking zones (A) are in place and (B) will be in place within the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The enforcement of offences is an operational matter for the police; the Department for Transport therefore does not hold the information requested. The Home Office type approve equipment that the police use for enforcement, so that the evidence it produces is admissible in court without corroboration. They do not type approve cameras to enforce no overtaking zones, only speed, red light, bus lane and unlicensed vehicle offences.

Road Traffic: Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much revenue enforcement cameras for the policing of no overtaking zones have generated in Essex in each year since 1997; and how much of that revenue has been spent in Essex.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Home Office type approve equipment that the police use for enforcement, so that the evidence it produces is admissible in court without corroboration. They do not type approve cameras to enforce no overtaking zones, only speed, red light, bus lane and unlicensed vehicle offences. Overtaking in a no overtaking zone is an endorsable fixed penalty offence (£60) or can result in a maximum Level 3 (£1,000) fine on conviction. The Department for Transport does not hold any information on the level of fine revenue from these offences.

Roads: Accidents

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were killed in  (a) West Chelmsford constituency and  (b) Essex in drink-driving-related accidents in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Estimates of the number of drink-driving-related accidents or casualties are not available below Government Office Region level. The estimates are published as an article 3, entitled "Drinking and driving" in "Road Casualties Great Britain—Annual report 2007". Copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of the House and it is also available at the following web address:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgreatbritain/roadcasualtiesgreatbritain20071

Roads: Accidents

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured on roads in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of casualties that were  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured resulting from reported personal injury road accidents in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last five years are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of casualties 
			   Killed  Seriously injured 
			 2003 4 115 
			 2004 2 80 
			 2005 6 81 
			 2006 6 97 
			 2007 6 99

Shipping: Piracy and Terrorism

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will hold discussions with his European and US counterparts on counter-piracy and counter-terrorism measures aboard passenger cruise ships.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Currently there are no plans for Department for Transport Ministers to hold discussions with European or US counterparts on improving counter-piracy and counter-terrorism measures on board passenger cruise ships. The Government work with international partners, including the International Maritime Organization, to ensure UK registered cruise ships are given the best advice available to prevent acts of piracy and terrorism. We undertake a programme of inspection to check that our ships are complying with their on board counter-terrorism security plans. Such plans are approved by the Department for Transport as meeting the relevant provisions of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, the International Ship and Port Facility Code and European Regulation. Our advice on preventing pirate attacks, including the measures that can be taken on board ships, is contained in Marine Guidance Note 298.

Speed Limits: Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent guidance his Department has issued on the visibility of speed enforcement cameras; what legislation currently regulates the visibility of speed enforcement cameras; and if will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: On 31 January 2007 the Department for Transport issued DfT Circular 01/2007, guidance on the deployment, visibility and signing of speed and red light cameras. The guidance was placed in the Library of the House and is also available on the Department's website. This came into effect on 1 April 2007 and recommends a high visibility approach to speed enforcement that the Department expects road safety partnerships to follow. However there is no legislation in place regulating the visibility of speed enforcement. The Department has always made clear that it remains open to the police to conduct covert enforcement of speed limits.

Speed Limits: Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what legislation speed camera zones must be clearly signposted; what changes have been made to this legislation since its enactment; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There is no legislation in place mandating the signing of areas where speed enforcement is taking place. Guidance on the deployment, visibility and signing of speed and red light cameras is contained in DfT Circular 01/2007, guidance on the deployment, visibility and signing of speed and red light cameras. The guidance was placed in the Library of the House and is also available on the Department for Transport's website. This came into effect on 1 April 2007 and recommends the use of camera warning signs where permitted and practicable. The signing is contained in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) and its use is not mandatory. However, in order for a speed limit to be enforced all speed limit signing must be lawful and correct and in accordance with TSRGD.

Speed Limits: Cameras

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras were  (a) installed on and  (b) removed from roads in (i) England and Wales, (ii) Essex and (iii) Southend in each year from 2000 to 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The Department only holds figures for 2007 until 31 March, when the National Safety Camera programme ended. The number of speed camera sites installed and removed in England and Wales and Essex is outlined in the following table. Separate information for Southend is not held:
	
		
			  Number of speed cameras installed and removed in England and Wales and Essex 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  England and Wales 
			 Installed 295 379 1116 1165 601 526 289 49 
			 Removed 9 13 81 38 54 55 49 8 
			  
			  Essex 
			 Installed 48 105 10 33 9 48 6 0 
			 Removed 0 8 45 4 3 9 13 0

Transport Innovation Fund

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1432W, on public transport: Greater Manchester, how many high quality Transport Innovation Fund proposals he has received.

Paul Clark: We continue to work with a number of other authorities as they consider their congestion problems and the role that demand management, including road pricing, alongside better public transport could play in tackling them and, if appropriate, develop proposals.

PRIME MINISTER

India: Ministerial Visits

Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has received representations from the Indian Government on the recent visit by the Foreign Secretary.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the Press Briefing given my spokesman on 21 January. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website at:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18111

Sir Fred Goodwin: Honours

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister if he will recommend to Her Majesty the Queen that the knighthood awarded to Sir Fred Goodwin for services to banking be withdrawn.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 28 January 2009,  Official Report, column 542W.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Internet

Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 995-6W, on the internet, on what date he estimates the better quality videos of the Parliamentary tour will be available for viewing on YouTube.

Nick Harvey: Following the review of the tour videos against editorial standards for quality and accuracy, it has been decided that, in their current form, the videos do not meet the required standards and that some additional filming will probably be required. The films will not therefore be ready to be relaunched in the immediate future. No date has yet been set as the work is still being scoped, but they will be put back on the website as soon as this work has been done.

Members: Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the House of Commons Commission has set a target for the time within which hon. Members' enquiries regarding their pensions are to be responded to.

Chris Bryant: I have been asked to reply.
	The administration of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund is a matter for the Trustees. I have asked their chairman, the hon. Member for Bournemouth, West (Sir John Butterfill), to write to the hon. Member.

Snow and Ice

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many snow shovels are owned by the House of Commons.

Nick Harvey: Snow clearance on the parliamentary estate is the responsibility of the company which holds the main cleaning contract. The company currently has five snow shovels on site. It has been instructed to increase the number to 20. On 2 February other shovels were also used. The problems encountered in clearing the snow were caused by a shortage of staff. Given the circumstances both the contractor's and the House's personnel were used to clear snow but many had been prevented from travelling by the weather.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Lead Theft

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what estimate the Church Commissioners have made of the number of churches from which lead has been stolen in the last two years.

Stuart Bell: In the last two years, Anglican churches have suffered over 4,500 thefts of metal costing around £18.5 million. These have been by far the worst in the Church's history for metal theft.

Church of England: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the effect of the current economic climate on levels of giving to parishes  (a) via the collection plate and  (b) otherwise; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Bell: Over the last 30 years church members have increased giving as a proportion of net income from 1 per cent. to over 3 per cent., so there is still some way to go to achieve General Synod's 5 per cent. target. Clearly church members will, like everyone else be affected by the present economic difficulties and the dioceses and Archbishops' Council are monitoring the situation closely. The high proportion who give by regular standing order provides some measure of resilience, but these are uncertain times, particularly with other sources of Church income also under pressure.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Registrar of Members' Interests

Hugh Bayley: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to share information with the Registrar of Members' Interests.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has agreed with the Registrar the changes necessary to harmonise the Rules relating to the conduct of Members with the statutory requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. These changes are set out in the Fourth Report of the Committee on Standards and Privileges which was published on 2 February 2009.

Early Voting

Linda Riordan: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of proposals for early voting in elections.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it believes that paper-based, early voting at polling stations could improve access to the voting process without harming the integrity of the ballot. The Commission believes that the Government should decide how to proceed with early voting as part of a wider electoral modernisation strategy.

Fines

Dominic Grieve: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what administrative financial penalties may be levied by the Electoral Commission.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission has powers to issue civil penalties under section 147 of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) where a relevant organisation is late in delivering a statutory report to the Commission. The amount of the civil penalty is calculated in accordance with subsection 3 of section 147, and depends on how late the relevant information is provided to the Commission.
	The Electoral Commission is also able to apply to a magistrates court to order the forfeiture of an amount equal to the value of a donation that has been accepted by a registered party or regulated donee, if the donation was impermissible or a court is satisfied that the true amount of a donation was intentionally concealed.

Local Government: Suffolk

Tim Yeo: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what representations from local authorities in Suffolk concerning its inquiry into the future structure of local government in Suffolk the Boundary Committee for England has received; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Boundary Committee received representations from the county council and all seven district councils in Suffolk. All submissions received are available on the Boundary Committee's website:
	www.electoralcommission.org.uk/boundary-reviews

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: Crime

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last five calendar years for offences under Part III of the Clean Air Act 1993.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA does not maintain or publish details of prosecutions under the Clean Air Act 1993. Information provided by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the Court Proceedings Database does not separately identify offences under parts of the Clean Air Act 1993. The following table shows the total number of defendants prosecuted under the Act (excluding offences under section 33) at magistrates courts in England and Wales for the last five years available.
	
		
			  Number of defendants p roceeded against at magistrates  courts in England and Wales for offences under the Clean Air Act 1993( 1,2,3 ) 2002- 06 
			   Persons( 4)  Other( 5)  Total 
			  England( 1)
			 2002 7 5 12 
			 2003 14 7 21 
			 2004 12 4 16 
			 2005 9 10 19 
			 2006 17 5 22 
			  Wales( 2)
			 2002 1 — 1 
			 2003 1 1 2 
			 2004 1 4 5 
			 2005 2 1 3 
			 2006 1 2 3 
			  England and Wales( 3) 
			 2002 8 5 13 
			 2003 15 8 23 
			 2004 13 8 21 
			 2005 11 11 22 
			 2006 18 7 25 
			 (1) Excludes section 33 (cable burning). (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4 )Persons data given are for males and females. (5) Other data refer to companies, public bodies, etc.  Source: Court proceedings database—Criminal Justice Evidence and Analysis—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Joint Waste Authorities

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance his Department has issued on whether members of a joint waste authority are entitled to responsibility allowances and salaries; and whether members will be eligible to join the local government pension scheme.

Jane Kennedy: No guidance on these issues has been published.

Origin Marking

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to improve country of origin labelling.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The framework European Commission legislation governing general food labelling is currently being revised in Brussels. This includes a consideration of the tightening of criteria around voluntary country of origin declarations. The Government support this move and are actively involved in these negotiations.
	In order to help industry meet consumer interest in this issue, the Food Standards Agency has had in place since 2002, best practice guidance. This advises, for example, that bacon products from imported pork should be clearly labelled as such. Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Ministers are holding a series of meetings with industry to promote uptake of the guidance.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities levy charges for the provision of bags for the collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not hold this information.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's consultation on revised waste exemptions from environmental permitting, whether municipal allotments will be charged to have permit or exemption in order to have a compost heap.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) on Compost: Licensing, on 26 January 2009,  Official Report, column 46W.

TREASURY

Child Trust Fund: County Londonderry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Child Trust Fund take-up rates in each ward in East Londonderry constituency were in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ian Pearson: [holding answer 3 February 2009): Information broken down by ward would be available only at a disproportionate cost.
	However, constituency-level data, including the number of vouchers issued and parental account opening figures, on Child Trust Fund accounts were published on 6 November 2008 and can be viewed on the HM Revenue and Customs' website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/cons-stats-oct08.pdf

Departmental Correspondence

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many responses to letters received in his Department from hon. Members were outstanding in each month since September 2008.

Angela Eagle: This information is not held on a monthly basis. However, the Cabinet Office annually publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members correspondence, which is available in the Library of the House.

Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions his Department has had with outside organisations to discuss policy to reduce the impact of the recession on matters within his Department's responsibility.

Angela Eagle: HM Treasury has regular engagements with outside organisations, including relevant Government Departments, on a range of issues relating to the economy.

Foreign Workers

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many non-UK born individuals have been in  (a) public and  (b) private sector employment in each year since 1978; and how many such individuals were in employment in each year.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many non-UK born individuals have been in (a) public and (b) private sector employment in each year since 1978; and how many such individuals were in employment in each year. 253923
	The available information is provided in the attached table. Comparable estimates prior to 1995 are not available.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on National Accounts definitions, but do not include this detailed age breakdown.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The figures have been derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently the estimates from Q3 2006 onwards are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, or the migrant worker figures published every quarter, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Non-UK born people aged 16 and over in employment by public and private sector, three month period ending September, 1995 to 2008, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			   Private sector( 1,)( )( 3)  Public sector( 1,)( )( 2)  Total( 4) 
			 1995 1,348 449 1,818 
			 1996 1,393 446 1,864 
			 1997 1,539 437 1,991 
			 1998 1,594 464 2,065 
			 1999 1,636 471 2,114 
			 2000 1,738 489 2,237 
			 2001 1,810 506 2.327 
			 2002 1,941 546 2,499 
			 2003 1,996 577 2,591 
			 2004 2,083 628 2,728 
			 2005 2,250 671 2.935 
			 2006 2,561 679 3,254 
			 2007 2,820 706 3,549 
			 2008(5) *2,985 *723 *3,727 
			 (1) It should be noted that public and private sector estimates: are based on survey respondents' views about the organisation for which they work; do not correspond to the National Accounts definition used for Public Sector Employment estimates. (2) Includes nationalised industry or state corporation, central government, civil service, local government or council (including police, fire services and local authority controlled schools or colleges), university or other grant-funded educational establishment, health authority or NHS trust and armed forces. (3) Includes self-employed and unpaid family workers. (4) Includes those whose type of employer was not known. (5) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical robustness  * 0 = CV <5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV = 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.)  Source: Labour Force Survey

Inheritance Tax: Housing

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what internal guidance documents the Valuation Office Agency uses for valuing properties for inheritance tax purposes.

Stephen Timms: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) internal guidance for valuing properties for inheritance tax purposes is contained in its Inheritance Tax Manual, which is available electronically on the VOA website at:
	www.voa.gov.uk/publications

Members: Correspondence

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters from hon. Members are yet to be answered by his Department; what the average time taken to reply to a letter from an hon. Member has been in each of the last six months; what his Department's target time for responding to a letter from an hon. Member is; and how many such letters have not been answered within that timescale in the last six months.

Angela Eagle: The Cabinet Office annually publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members correspondence, which is available in the Library of the House.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter sent to his Department by the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead dated 29 October 2008, regarding tax credits.

Stephen Timms: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

Pay

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 468-9W, in relation to what other groups  (a) HM Revenue and Customs and  (b) its predecessor bodies have conducted similar sample surveys.

Stephen Timms: Inland Revenue, and more recently HMRC, has carried out similar sample surveys in respect of general practitioners and NHS dentists. Results of recent surveys are published on The NHS Information Centre for health and social care website:
	http://www.ic.nhs.uk

Revenue and Customs: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date HM Revenue and Customs office in Chorley is planned to be closed.

Stephen Timms: As announced in February 2008 HMRC is planning to vacate Lingmell House, Chorley by autumn 2010. No specific vacation date has yet been set. Inquiry centre services will be continued in the locality.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Offenders: Employment

Edward Garnier: To ask the Leader of the House what her Office's policy is on the employment of former prisoners.

Chris Bryant: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Cabinet Office on 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 872W. The Leader's Office is part of the Cabinet Office.
	The Cabinet Office does not require applicants who have spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 to provide details of those convictions when seeking employment. Applicants with current convictions are not precluded from taking up employment and each case is considered on the basis of individual circumstances.

JUSTICE

Cannabis: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many successful prosecutions for the possession of cannabis there have been in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland constituency in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions there were of people from each district council ward in Copeland for (i) the possession and (ii) the supplying of cannabis in the last five years;
	(3)  how many of the successful prosecutions for the supplying of cannabis in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland involved (i) offenders resident outside of Cumbria and (ii) young offenders in the last five years;
	(4)  how many successful prosecutions for the supplying of cannabis there have been in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland in each of the last five years; how many of each resulted in a custodial sentence in each year; and how many resulted in offenders taking part in a drug rehabilitation programme in each year.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is set out as follows:
	 Court proceedings
	Information on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for the possession and supply of cannabis in Cumbria for 2003 to 2007, broken down by age is in table 1.
	Information on the number of defendants given a custodial sentence and given drug treatment and testing orders for the supply of cannabis are in table 2. Drug treatment and testing orders were replaced in 2006 by community orders (not currently collected by the Ministry of Justice) which can comprise a number of possible requirements including a drug treatment programme.
	Information held centrally on the Court Proceedings Database from which the data has been derived does not include information on constituencies and the residence of defendants.
	 Arrests
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person, sexual offences and drug offences. From these centrally reported data, we are not able to identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.
	Data are reported to the Home Office at police force area level only therefore further breakdowns of data by district council ward are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for the possession and supply( 1)  of cannabis, in the Cumbria police force area, 2003-07, broken down by age ( 2, 3) 
			Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Offence  Age  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Possession 10 to 17 33 26 42 30 14 27 24 40 28 11 
			  18 and over 192 94 78 84 94 178 80 65 75 89 
			  All ages 225 120 120 114 108 205 104 105 103 100 
			 
			 Supply 10 to 17 4 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 — 
			  18 and over 27 15 9 15 20 20 17 4 10 16 
			  All ages 31 16 10 16 21 24 18 5 11 16 
			 (1) Includes "Supplying or offering to supply" and "Possession with intent to supply". (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit, Office for Criminal Justice Reform. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Custodial sentences and drug treatment and testing orders for supplying cannabis offences( 1) , Cumbria  police force area,  2003-07 
			  Supply  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Immediate custodial sentences 9 6 — 1 9 
			 Drug treatment and testing order(2) 19 13 19 — — 
			 (1) Includes "Supplying or offering to supply" and "Possession with intent to supply". (2) Now replaced by community order which can comprise a number of possible requirements including a drug treatment programme, however, these data are not currently collected by the Ministry of Justice.  Notes: 1. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems.  3. These data are based on the principal offence basis.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

Courts: Closures

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) courts and  (b) hearing centres have closed in each year since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: Up until 1 April 2005 magistrates courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates courts committees who were statutorily independent. They were not required by statute to inform the Department of closures that were not subject to an appeal under section 56(3) of the Justices peace Act 1997 (now repealed).
	The following table shows details of court closures within Her Majesty's Courts' Service, (including Crown, magistrates and county courts) since 1997.
	
		
			   Closures 
			   Magistrates court  Crown court (satellites )  County court  Total court 
			 1997 21 1 8 30 
			 1998 25 0 6 31 
			 1999 7 1 2 10 
			 2000 13 0 4 17 
			 2001 30 0 1 31 
			 2002 7 0 2 9 
			 2003 13 0 0 13 
			 2004 2 0 0 2 
			 2005 0 0 0 0 
			 2006 1 0 1 2 
			 2007 2 1 0 3 
			 2008 2 0 0 2 
			 2009 to date 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Total150

Courts: Prison Accommodation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions court cells were  (a) made available for and  (b) used for housing prisoners overnight in the last 12 months; and how many prisoners were accommodated on each occasion they were used.

Jack Straw: Court cells were used on 21 nights between the nights of 5-6 and 28-29 February 2008. At any one time a maximum of 164 cells were available for use.
	The following table shows the number of places used in each of five courts over this period. Court cells have not been used since 28-29 February 2008.
	
		
			  Date  Total 
			 5 February 2008 66 
			 6 February 2008 71 
			 7 February 2008 56 
			 9 February 2008 32 
			 10 February 2008 32 
			 11 February 2008 99 
			 12 February 2008 87 
			 13 February 2008 71 
			 14 February 2008 95 
			 16 February 2008 26 
			 17 February 2008 26 
			 18 February 2008 63 
			 19 February 2008 9 
			 20 February 2008 44 
			 21 February 2008 69 
			 23 February 2008 39 
			 24 February 2008 39 
			 25 February 2008 61 
			 26 February 2008 40 
			 27 February 2008 63 
			 28 February 2008 27 
			 Total 1,115

Cremation

Bill Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish guidance to local authorities on  (a) the length of time ashes should be retained by crematoria and  (b) the methods to be used to dispose of ashes not claimed by the family of the deceased.

Bridget Prentice: We currently have no plans to issue guidance on these issues. Regulation 30 of the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008, which came into force on 1 January, sets out the duties of cremation authorities in respect of the disposal of ashes. These are that the cremation authority must give the ashes to the applicant for cremation or someone nominated by the applicant for that purpose. If the applicant does not want the ashes and has not nominated anyone, the cremation authority must retain the ashes for burial or scattering within the crematorium grounds. The authority must not inter or scatter the ashes unless it has given 14 days' notice of its intention to do so to the applicant.

Judicial Appointments Commission: Finance

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the budget of the Judicial Appointments Commission was in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) was officially launched on 3 April 2006. The grant funding for JAC provided by Ministry of Justice in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 000 
			 2006-07 6,104 
			 2007-08 7,130 
			 2008-09 8,148 
		
	
	The 2008-09 grant number is based upon the published winter supplementary estimate.

Prison Sentences

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the likely effect of the creation of a Sentencing Council on the level of the prison population in England and Wales.

Jack Straw: The creation of a Sentencing Council has no direct impact on the prison population. This is because there is no requirement in the Coroners and Justice Bill for a sentencer in an individual case to have regard to resources. There is also no requirement in the Bill for the Council to produce guidelines that fit within resource constraints. A key new role of the Sentencing Council will however be to monitor and assess the impact that sentencing guidelines and other factors have, or are likely to have, on the prison population and probation service.

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether prisoners on  (a) end of custody licence,  (b) release on temporary licence and  (c) home detention curfew are eligible to vote if registered.

Jack Straw: Prisoners who are detained in a penal institution are ineligible to vote in all UK elections under the terms of section 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 and other related legislation. Prisoners are only granted temporary release for one of the purposes laid down in rule 9 of the Prison Rules 1999 or rule 5 of the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000. Voting is not included in those purposes who have been released from prison under the home detention curfew scheme are eligible to vote unless they are otherwise excluded by statute.

Prisons: Wind Power

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will commission research on the effect on  (a) prison security,  (b) the well being and health of prisoners and  (c) the safety and health of prison staff from (i) noise from, (ii) vibrations from and (iii) movement of wind turbines sited close to prisons.

David Hanson: The Departments for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, are responsible for Government policy on wind turbines and therefore for research about their impact on residential property and businesses in close proximity to them. The National Offender Management Service already reviews the security implications of wind turbines sited close to prisons and will conduct appropriate health and safety risk assessments on wind turbines that are already in place.

Victims' Champion: Finance

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the budget of the Victims' Champion is for the term of the appointment.

Jack Straw: £60,000 for this calendar year.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many additional helicopters have been delivered to forces in Afghanistan as a result of the UK-French Helicopter Fund announced at the March 2008 Franco-British Summit.

John Hutton: Nations benefiting from the Helicopter Fund will start to deploy helicopters to Afghanistan in September this year. By mid-2010 we anticipate that the first three nations to use the fund to support their theatre-entry equipment and training requirements will have deployed eight helicopters to Afghanistan. Furthermore, three other nations that are considering deploying helicopters to Afghanistan for the first time have made informal enquiries about how the fund may be used to help with the procurement of mission-essential equipment.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of personnel who left the armed forces in each year since 2002 had served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Quentin Davies: holding reply 3 February 2009
	The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Training

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) original and  (b) revised estimate of the value of defence estates to be sold under package 1 of the Defence Training Review was.

Quentin Davies: The Department is continuing to seek planning consents for the proposed sale of the sites programmed to be sold under the current Metrix deal for Defence Training Review Package 1. Anticipated values rise and fall according to market conditions and are continually reviewed in line with HM Treasury guidance. Surplus sites are planned to be sold at market value from 2012 onwards. I am withholding the anticipated values as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests. There is no direct relationship between their disposal and affordability of the Package 1 Project.

Central Africa: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which EU member states are contributing to the EU military mission to Chad and the Central African Republic; and what each is contributing.

Quentin Davies: The majority of EU member states are contributing to EUFOR TCHAD/RCA. The specific contribution of other EU member states is a matter for them. Further information on EUFOR TCHAD/RCA can be found on the website of the Council of the European Union:
	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/
	The UK is providing four military officers under standing EU headquarters augmentation procedures as part of the operation: two officers in the operation HQ at Mont Valerien in Paris and two officers in the force HQ in Chad. There is also one British staff officer attached to the French NATO Rapid Deployment Corps which France has recently deployed to Chad.

Cyprus: Military Bases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops have been stationed in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in each year since 2002.

Bob Ainsworth: A breakdown of figures for the two sovereign areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is not available. The following table shows the total number of UK service personnel stationed in Cyprus as at 1 April each year:
	
		
			   Total in Cyprus 
			 2002 3,460 
			 2003 (1)— 
			 2004 (1)— 
			 2005 3,170 
			 2006 3,040 
			 2007 (2)2,950 
			 2008 (2)2,780 
			 (1 )Data not available.  (2 )Provisional due to on-going validation of data. 
		
	
	Location statistics between 2003 and 2004 were suspended due to concerns over data quality.
	Data for 2002 include deployed and stationed personnel; from 2005 onwards data are for stationed personnel only.
	The UK regular forces stationed location figures are available in UKDS. The latest published figures are available at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=1610&date=2008-10-01&pubType=1&PublishTime=09:30:00&from=home&tabOption=3

EU Battlegroups

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to paragraph 107 of the Explanatory Memorandum of 11 December 2008 on the French Presidency Report on European Security and Defence Policy, European Union Document No. 16686/08, whether the generic preparation guide for EU battlegroups uses NATO standardisation agreements.

John Hutton: 26 EU member states are also members of NATO or NATO Partnership for Peace and therefore use NATO standardisation agreements. The EU battlegroup preparation guide stipulates that
	"EU Battlegroup evaluation procedures and standards should, where applicable, be analogous to those defined within NATO, taking into account the specific nature of EU crisis management"
	(paragraph 70, page 16).

EU Battlegroups

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to paragraph 107 of the Explanatory Memorandum of 11 December 2008 on the French Presidency Report on European Security and Defence Policy, European Union Document No. 16686/08, whether the British armed forces will use the generic preparations guide for EU battlegroups; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the guide.

John Hutton: The UK contributed to the formulation of the generic preparations guide for EU battlegroups that was agreed under the French presidency for use on a voluntary basis by EU member states in accordance with the battlegroup concept. The UK's contributions to the EU's battlegroup roster are prepared and certified nationally to standards that meet and exceed the ones set out in this and other documents agreed by the council. I will place a copy of the guide in the Library of the House.

EU Rapid Reaction Force

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which components of the UK's commitment to the Helsinki Headline Goal comprise an  (a) armed mechanical brigade and  (b) amphibious brigade.

Bob Ainsworth: The United Kingdom currently offers:
	Three brigades from the army to HG2010. The three brigades offer a degree of flexibility that allows the UK to provide either an Armoured Brigade (based on Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks), a Mechanised Brigade (based on Saxon Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks) or an Air Assault Brigade consisting of lightly equipped infantry in the Air Manoeuvre role.
	One amphibious brigade from the Royal Navy to HG2010.
	A member state's declaration to the Headline Goal indicates the range of forces that could be made available to support potential EU operations. It does not bind the member state to providing the forces declared for any specific mission.

EU Rapid Reaction Force

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to paragraph 106 of the Explanatory Memorandum of 11 December 2008 on the French Presidency Report on European Security and Defence Policy, European Union Document No. 16686/08, what  (a) resources and  (b) capabilities the UK has declared for the (i) Maritime Rapid Response Concept and (ii) Air Rapid Response Concept for 2009.

John Hutton: The Maritime Response Concept and the Air Rapid Response Concept are mechanisms to speed up the force generation process in the EU and do not indicate any standing forces. The UK has committed no capabilities or resources specifically to either concept but has set out in its response to the EU Headline Goal 2010 the forces, including maritime and air, that are potentially available for planning purposes for EU missions.

Military Aircraft

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the in-service date for the A400M airlift aircraft.

Quentin Davies: Airbus Military has announced a series of delays in the development and production of the A400M programme, and has recently indicated that first deliveries to customer nations will be three years after the achievement of first flight of the A400M prototype. Airbus has indicated that first flight will occur no earlier than the second half of 2009, and has also announced a slowdown in its production plans. Early A400M production aircraft will be delivered to some of our partner nations and therefore the first UK delivery would occur at least six months after Airbus delivers the first A400M. This suggests that initial UK deliveries could not start before 2013 and therefore the estimated in-service date of the A400M (defined as acceptance into service of the seventh aircraft) would be 2014.

Navy: Contracts

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what multi-activity contracts (MACs) the Royal Navy has; and what the  (a) scope,  (b) monetary value and  (c) date of expiry of each MAC is.

Quentin Davies: The Royal Navy has 11 commercial agreements that can be described as multi-activity contracts of varying size, value and scope. These range from services provided under a 15-year partnering arrangement to a small contract for catering and cleaning services. Details are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Contract Title  Contract Scope  Contract Monetary Value  Contract Expiry Date 
			 RN South-West Regional MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £7 million with an initial period of seven years 30 April 2013 with potential for further periods 
			 RN South Central Regional MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £7 million with an initial period of seven years 30 April 2013 with potential for further periods 
			 RM Condor, HMS Gannet and RMR Scotland MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £1.3 million with an initial period of four years 30 November 2012 with potential for further periods 
			 RM Poole MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £2.2 million with a duration of eight years 30 April 2009 
			 Gosport MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £5 million with a duration of seven years 17 November 2009 
			 HMS Caledonia and Rosyth Area MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £1.8 million with a duration of eight years 31 January 2009 
			 Non Fleet Scottish Units MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £0.15 million with a duration of eight years 31 May 2009 
			 RNHQ Northern England and HMS Cambria Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £0.1 million with an initial period of three years 31 July 2011 with potential for further periods 
			 Gosport MAC Soft Facilities Management Estimated annual value of £0.3 million with an initial period of three years 17 November 2010 with potential for further periods 
			 RN Partnering Arrangement Soft Facilities Management, Hard Facility Management Estimated annual value of £80 million with a duration of 15 years. 30 June 2011 
			 Navy Command Air Engineering MAC Technical Services Management Estimated annual value of £8-11 million with a duration of three years 31 March 2011 
			  Notes:  1. Soft Facilities Management may include but is not limited to the provision of catering, retail and leisure, mess and hotel services, establishment cleaning and waste management, graphic and media support, and administration services. 2. Hard Facility Management may include but is not limited to the provision of civil and domestic building/works, infrastructure maintenance, and grounds maintenance.  3. Technical Services Management may include but is not limited to the provision of training and training support, equipment maintenance and technical support, airfield services and support.

Warships

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria were used to determine the successful bidder for the Royal Navy contract entitled Specialist Vessel Requirement S&MO CB/3193; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The contract for the provision of harbour support and coastal re-supply services to the Falkland Islands was awarded on 23 January 2009 following an open competition that fully complied with MOD guidelines and EU regulations. All bids received were assessed on a fair and equitable basis against stringent operational requirements and criteria to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The most technically compliant and affordable bidder was awarded the contract.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

National Audit Office: Future Work Programme

David Taylor: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission when he last discussed the National Audit Office's future work programme with the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Alan Williams: The Comptroller and Auditor General is responsible for the selection of topics for the National Audit Office's future work programme. He discusses the actual topics with the Public Accounts Committee. The Commission's role is to ensure that adequate resources are available for the NAO's programme. The Commission last discussed the National Audit Office's work with the Comptroller and Auditor General on 2 July 2008 when it examined the Office's Corporate Plan.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Control

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what increased resources his Department has dedicated to tackling chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism threats, as referred to on page 12 of his Department's Autumn 2008 Performance Report.

David Miliband: We are increasing programme spend from £2 million for the financial year 2009-10 to £3 million for the financial year 2010-11. Eight officers within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Directorate for Defence and Strategic Threats cover aspects of work related to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism; this represents an increase in the number of staff dealing with the issue. In addition there are officers at posts overseas working on CBRN as part of their portfolios.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Gillian Merron: This information is not held centrally in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the cost of collecting it would incur disproportionate cost. The FCO's Senior Information Risk Owner wrote to the FCO's main contractors in December 2008 reminding them of their responsibilities under the Data Handling Report in managing data securely. FCO contracts include new security clauses which are applicable to all contracts involving personal data.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is not held centrally, and the cost of providing it would be disproportionate.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 99-102WS, on what date Mr. Ravi Gurumurthy was appointed.

Gillian Merron: Mr. Ravi Gurumurthy was seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 28 June 2007.

Departmental Surveys

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department's central media and communication unit spent on public surveys in each of the last three years.

Gillian Merron: Communication Directorate within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office acts as its central media and communication unit. Only a small number of public surveys have been carried out by the directorate in the last three years. Between April 2006 to March 2007, and April 2007 to March 2008, there were none. From April 2008 to January 2009 the directorate spent an estimated total of £25,000 on public surveys.

Embassies: Operating Costs

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the running costs of each British diplomatic mission overseas were in the last financial year for which information is available.

David Miliband: I will write to the right hon. Member separately with details of the costs of each British diplomatic mission overseas for 2007-08, and will place a copy of these details in the Library of the House.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Billericay dated 28 October 2008 on the subject of the John Williams draft of the Iraq dossier.

Gillian Merron: I responded to the hon. Member on 19 January 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy on the recent Arab Peace Initiative is.

Bill Rammell: The Arab Peace Initiative offers Israel recognition by, and normalisation of relations with, the 22 Arab League States as part of a comprehensive peace. The Government believe that it provides a positive vision for the progress in the Middle East Peace Process. We are working with the Governments of Israel and of the Arab world to pursue a such comprehensive peace.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agreements there are affecting the use of British military airbases for the transfer of weapons from the United States to Israel; and whether the terms of such agreements have been invoked in the last two months.

Quentin Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	The Ministry of Defence has a system in place that requires all countries to seek clearance for all aircraft registered as military or state aircraft that wish to enter, fly over or depart from UK airspace or for civilian aircraft wishing to land at military bases. All other types of aircraft are subject to the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority. A request for MOD clearance includes the final destination of the flight and details of any dangerous cargo that may be in transit. I can confirm that we have had no such requests for clearance from the US with regards to flights on to Israel in the last two months.

Morocco: Trade

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department has issued to firms about trade with Morocco where such trade draws upon the resources of the Non Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara.

Gillian Merron: Commercial deals are a matter for the companies concerned. However, the Government work to ensure that companies are aware of the undetermined status of the non self-governing territory of Western Sahara when trading with Morocco. The UK supports UN efforts to resolve the conflict and urge all parties to achieve a mutually acceptable solution that provides the people of the Western Sahara with an opportunity to exercise their right of self-determination.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Coal: Imports

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much coal was imported in each of the last 10 years; how much he forecasts will be imported in the  (a) current year and  (b) next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The following table shows how much coal was imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years. Provisional annual figures for 2008 will be published in the March edition of Energy Trends.
	
		
			   Amount (Thousand tonnes) 
			 1998 21,244 
			 1999 20,293 
			 2000 23,446 
			 2001 35,542 
			 2002 28,686 
			 2003 31,891 
			 2004 36,153 
			 2005 43,968 
			 2006 50,529 
			 2007 43,365 
			  Source: Table 2.1.1 Long Term Trends, Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2008. 
		
	
	A range of scenarios for future coal imports implied by scenarios for demand and indigenous production of coal can be found on page 88 of the "Energy Markets Outlook Report" December 2008, produced by Department of Energy and Climate Change. A copy of this publication is available in the House of Commons Library or can be accessed through this link:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file49406.pdf.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what percentage of contractors and suppliers to his Department has reported compliance with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Mike O'Brien: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was formed on 3 October 2008, bringing together policy responsibility for energy (formerly with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)) and climate change (formerly with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)). The Department is not at present party to any contracts, as the Transfer of Function Order related to the creation of DECC has not yet come into force. Existing contracts related to energy and climate change matters will remain with BERR and Defra respectively until the Transfer of Function Order comes into force. Given that, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 22 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1588W and by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 422W.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many contracts his Department has which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Mike O'Brien: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was formed on 3 October 2008, bringing together policy responsibility for energy (formerly with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)) and climate change (formerly with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)). The Department is not at present party to any contracts, as the Transfer of Function Order related to the creation of DECC has not yet come into force. Existing contracts related to energy and climate change matters will remain with BERR and Defra respectively until the Transfer of Function Order comes into force. Given that, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 890W and by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 423W.

Departmental Written Questions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on how many occasions since the creation of his Department Ministers used their discretion to rule that a parliamentary question for written answer should be answered because it would be in the public interest to do so, even though to do so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £700.

Mike O'Brien: Since the Department's inception on 3 October 2008, Minister's have not asked for any parliamentary questions to be answered whereby disproportionate costs would have been incurred.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to reply to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead's letter of 10 October 2008, that was transferred to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on cavity wall insulation.

Joan Ruddock: I replied to the hon. Member on 20 January 2009 and apologise for the delay, which was due to departmental reorganisation.

Warm Front Scheme: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on the operation of the Warm Front scheme in North Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Department for Work and Pensions operates the winter fuel payments. My Department has received representations on the operation of the Warm Front Scheme in North Yorkshire.
	I am currently receiving all aspects of the scheme and all such representations are informing the process.

Wind Power

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 896-97W, on wind power, what assessment he has made of the contribution of operational wind turbines towards the Government's renewable energy targets.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 26 January 2009
	The UK has a domestic target of 10 per cent. of our electricity coming from renewable sources by 2010. In 2007, all renewables generated 19,664 GWh of electricity, or 5 per cent. of the UK's electricity.
	Of this, onshore wind generated 4,491 GWh. The contribution from onshore wind to overall UK electricity generation was 1.14 per cent.
	Offshore wind generated 783 GWh in 2007. The contribution from offshore wind to overall UK generation was 0.2 per cent.
	The contribution from onshore and offshore wind to overall UK generation was therefore 1.34 per cent.
	 Source: AEA Technology/RESTATS.
	It should be noted, however, that since this data was collated new projects have gone live in 2008—such as the 194MW Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms and the 322MW Whitelee onshore wind farm. Generation data for these sites is not yet available.
	With the construction of Lynn and Inner Dowsing, the UK now has 598MW of offshore wind capacity, overtaking Denmark as world leader in this technology. This extra capacity also takes the UK over the 3GW mark of total installed onshore and offshore wind capacity.
	We are committed to increasing the use of wind power far beyond 3GW over the next few decades. The step change in the policy and measures necessary to achieve this are already in train or being developed.
	The UK Government support the agreement that has been reached between the Council and European Parliament following the Council in December 2008 that 20 per cent. of EU energy consumption should come from renewable energy sources by 2020. In the UK this equates to a 15 per cent. target by 2020.
	To meet this target, we consulted on a draft UK Renewable Energy Strategy last summer. We sought stakeholders' views on a wide range of measures, including further development of wind power, to help meet our share of the EU target. We will publish our finalised Renewable Energy Strategy later this year.
	We also have a range of measures already in place to bring on more renewables development, including onshore and offshore wind, in order to meet our targets. For example, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in the pre-Budget report that we would be extending the Renewables Obligation (RO) until 2037. This will ensure that investors can plan with confidence for the future so that over the next decade the market will continue to deliver the renewables projects that we need to achieve our 2020 target.
	This Department will also be launching an Office for Renewable Energy Deployment (ORED), one of a suite of new low-carbon offices, as a one-stop-shop for business and other stakeholders aimed at removing supply chain barriers to renewables deployment. ORED will also have a strong role to play in tackling other deployment barriers related to grid, planning and raising public awareness.
	Other measures include the launch this year of tenders under the Offshore Transmission Regime, to enable more offshore wind power to be connected to the grid. The Transmission Access Review will also enable more onshore wind to get early connection dates.
	In summary, we are working across policy areas to increase wind developments: planning, financial incentives, business development and grid infrastructure. These measures will ensure wind power plays a full part in meeting our carbon budgets and energy supply needs in 2020 and beyond.

OLYMPICS

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister for the Olympics when she plans to reply to the letters of 6 November 2008 and 14 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on Olympic events for women cyclists, reference SP2318.

Tessa Jowell: I will reply to the hon. Member's letter early next week. I apologise for the delay.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Marketing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on advertising in the last five years;
	(2)  with reference to the Answer of 12 November 2008, on departmental marketing, how much his Department spent on advertising in the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The following table provides details of the Northern Ireland Office's advertising expenditure, excluding agencies and NDPBs, in the last five years.
	
		
			   Advertising expenditure (£) 
			 2003-04 372,922 
			 2004-05 548,451 
			 2005-06 159,146 
			 2006-07 190,204 
			 2007-08 454,075 
		
	
	The increase in 2007-08 was largely due to a public advertising campaign for fireworks safety, funded by Firearms and Explosives Branch. Expenditure in this campaign included creative, agency and production costs as well as media advertising, promotion, education packs and initiatives for schools.

Departmental Travel

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what expenditure his Department has incurred in providing transport for Ministers between Parliament and departmental premises in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 26 January 2009,  Official Report, column 5W, in relation to the Government Car and Despatch Agency. Other transport costs for Ministers between Parliament and departmental premises could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the ministerial code.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising: Regulation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps his Department has taken to regulate the advertising industry.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 4 February 2009
	Advertising in the UK is strictly controlled through a system of co-regulation and self-regulation, which is enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This regulatory system is independent of Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising.
	The bodies responsible for writing and maintaining the advertising codes, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), are currently undertaking a full review of all the advertising codes. CAP and BCAP will hold a public consultation on proposed changes to the advertising codes in 2009.

Arts Council England: Grants

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding Arts Council England provided to  (a) the Hayward Gallery,  (b) the London Philharmonic Orchestra and  (c) the Saison Poetry Library in each of the last five years; and how much came from (i) Exchequer funding and (ii) the National Lottery in each such year.

Barbara Follett: Arts Council England has advised that it has provided funding to the Hayward Gallery and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in each of the last five years as set out in the table. Regular funding towards the ongoing running costs of the Hayward Gallery and the Saison Poetry Library is included in the overall allocation for the South Bank Centre. The Saison Poetry Library has received no lottery funding.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Arts Council England funding to:  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  (a) Hayward Gallery  
			 (i) Exchequer funding other than regular funding via South Bank Centre allocation — — — — 500 
			 (ii) Lottery funding: grants for the Arts — — 30,000 — — 
			   
			  (b) London Philharmonic Orchestra  
			 (i) Exchequer funding 1,618,362 1,741,681 1,916,615 1,969,322 2,023,478 
			 (ii) Lottery funding: grants for the Arts — — 30,000 269,694 10,928

BBC: Location

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on the cost of relocation of BBC staff to Media City, Salford; what discussions he has had on the subject with  (a) the Director General of the BBC and  (b) the BBC Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The cost to the licence fee payer of relocating BBC staff to Media City in Salford was estimated by the BBC at the time of the licence fee settlement announcement at £200 million over the current licence fee period, which is from April 2007 to March 2013.
	The BBC director general and the chair of the BBC Trust update me regularly on BBC-related matters, including the relocation to Media City.

Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to respond to the Review of Barriers to Investment in Next Generation Broadband.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have been considering the recommendations from the Caio Review into the barriers to investment in Next Generation Access carefully, particularly in relation to the recently announced Digital Britain Report, which will provide a strategy for a fully digital Britain. The Government will fully respond to these recommendations in due course.

Digital Broadcasting: Publicity

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of campaigns to inform people about the switchover from analogue to digital television.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 4 February 2009
	DigitalUK is responsible for informing the public about switchover. The DigitalUK tracker survey Q3 2008 shows that public awareness now stands at almost 90 per cent. and Digital Television take-up at 87 per cent.

Public Service Broadcasting: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure quality of service from public service broadcasters.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 4 February 2009
	Within the framework of the Communication Act 2003 and the BBC's Charter and Agreement, day-to-day responsibility for ensuring quality of Public Service Broadcasting rests with the broadcasters and the broadcasting authorities.
	The Government are looking at how the quality of Public Service Broadcasting can be sustained in the future, as part of the current Digital Britain review, due to published in the summer of 2009.

Television: Licensing

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much TV Licensing spent on public relations in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: The BBC has a statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system. Under contract to the corporation, TV Licensing carries out the day to day administration of these duties.
	"TV Licensing" is a trading name used by companies contracted by the BBC to administer the collection of television licence fees and enforcement of the television licensing system. TV Licensing's marketing and public relations activities are carried out by the AMV consortium, which is made up of the following four companies: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Ltd, Fishburn Hedges Boys Williams Limited (who are responsible for TV Licensing's public relations activities), PHD Media Limited and Proximity London Ltd.
	The BBC considers that release of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of parties within, and connected to, this arrangement, as well as the BBC itself, as it would reveal valuable information on pricing structures, business structures and operations to these companies' competitors.

Television: Standards

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he received any representations from viewers regarding the use of language in Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare programme broadcast on Channel 4.

Andy Burnham: My Department has not currently received any representations from viewers referring to the use of language in Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare programme.

Tourism

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to encourage foreign visitors to the United Kingdom over the next 18 months; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: VisitBritain (VB) is currently formulating a new three-year strategy on the back of the many recommendations of the recent British Tourism Framework Review. The strategy will set out the steps that VB will take between 2009 and 2012 to increase the visitor economy to £133 billion by 2018. The strategy is due to be launched on 11 February.
	Overseas visitors demand the highest levels of customer service and we believe that despite the global economic downturn, they are willing to spend on good quality products. VisitBritain therefore announced a new marketing campaign 'Value for Money' at the Liverpool Tourism Summit on 8 January 2009 costing £6.5 million. This will include the promotion of London as a more affordable destination at the present time. In addition, the Government will continue to invest in skills and in tourism product itself. This will include the quality of accommodation; the Olympics and Paralympic Games; the Cultural Olympiad; free museums and galleries; heritage and seaside resorts, which are all critical to meeting visitor expectations and their demand for an exceptional experience.

Tourism: EU Grants and Loans

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to bid for EU funding schemes for tourism in England during the current financial year.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 2 February 2009
	The Department has no current plans to bid for EU funding schemes for tourism in the current financial year. Bids for funds from the European Regional Development Fund Objective 2 and the European Social Fund for Tourism are usually submitted by the Regional Development Agencies.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carer's Allowance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of an annual increase in carer's allowance of  (a) £3,  (b) £4,  (c) £5,  (d) £6,  (e) £7,  (f) £8,  (g) £9 and  (h) £10 a week in each of the next six years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The estimated additional annual cost of increasing carer's allowance by the specified amounts is shown in the following table. The increase in carer's allowance is represented as a cash amount in the given years. The costs are given in nominal terms.
	
		
			  Estimated additi onal annual cost of increasing c a rer's a llowance 
			  £  million 
			  Increase in carer's a llowance amount  2009-1 0  2010- 11  2011- 12  2012- 13  2013- 14  2014- 15 
			 £3 40 42 44 45 47 48 
			 £4 54 56 58 60 62 64 
			 £5 67 70 73 75 78 80 
			 £6 80 84 87 90 93 96 
			 £7 94 98 102 105 109 113 
			 £8 107 111 116 120 125 129 
			 £9 121 125 131 135 140 145 
			 £10 134 139 145 151 156 161 
		
	
	These figures represent the best estimate we can provide given the limitations of the data. However, they are likely to under estimate the total costs. This is because they do not include any costs for carer's allowance recipients who are in a household where a member receives an income-related benefit, as we are unable to estimate the costs of increasing carer's allowance for this group.

Children: Maintenance

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what enforcement action his Department and its agencies have taken to recover debts in respect of which they have obtained liability orders in each region of England in each of the last three years.

Kitty Ussher: The Department does not use liability orders to recover benefit overpayment debts.

Council Tax and Housing Benefits

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many outstanding unprocessed council tax benefit claims there were in each local authority area in each  (a) quarter of each year from 1999 to 2008 and  (b) of the last 12 months;
	(2)  what the average number of days taken to process council tax benefit applications was in  (a) each quarter of each year from 1999 to 2008 and  (b) each of the last 12 months;
	(3)  what the average number of days taken to process housing benefit applications was in  (a) each quarter of each year from 1999 to 2008 and  (b) each of the last 12 months;
	(4)  how many outstanding unprocessed housing benefit claims there were in each local authority area in  (a) each quarter of each year from 1999 to 2008 and  (b) each of the last 12 months.

Kitty Ussher: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Internet

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which websites are operated by his Department in addition to its main website; and what the operating budget for those websites is.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following tables detail the websites currently operated by the Department for Work and Pensions, and the costs associated with them.
	DWP websites are mostly operated by the Department's own in-house Digital Media team.
	DWP is currently working with the COI to develop a standardised method for quantifying website costs across Government. We will be implementing this standard from March 2009 in line with the current timetable.
	However, for the financial year 2007-08, the latest available figures, it was not possible for us to quantify internal staff costs, because in most cases, staff were engaged in more than one role. In addition, we were unable to establish accurately our infrastructure costs because they formed part of a wider departmental IT contract. We have therefore detailed only quantifiable costs for each site—these include payments to suppliers for services such as research, testing and site builds. Figures for the jobcentre plus website include the costs of maintaining some online services, since these figures are quantifiable.
	Table A lists those websites operated by Department for Work and Pensions where the Department is responsible for the content:
	
		
			  W ebsite name and a ddress   Quantifiable costs financial year 2007-08  (£) 
			  Department for Work and Pensions   
			 www.dwp.gov.uk  25,666 
			
			  Jobcentre Plus   
			 www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk Employer Direct Online 390,684 
			  Internet Job Bank 1,645,752 
			  Tactical e-services 1,014,816 
			  Site Accessibility 58,000 
			  Total 3,109,252 
			
			  The Pension Service   
			 www.thepensionservice.gov.uk  10,429 
			
			  Directgov Disabled People and Carers Sections   
			 www.direct.gov.uk/disablity  614,848 
			 www.direct.gov.uk/carers   
			
			  Directgov Over 50s Section   
			 www.direct.gov.uk/over50s  — 
			
			  Directgov Jobseekers   
			 www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers  — 
			
			  Age Positive   
			 www.agepositive.gov.uk  — 
			
			  Office for Disability Issues   
			 www.officefordisability.gov.uk  149,466 
			
			  European Social Fund   
			 www.esf.gov.uk  — 
			
			  Now Let's Talk Money   
			 www.nowletstalkmoney.com  163,612 
		
	
	Table B lists those websites operated by the Department for Work and Pensions where the Department is not responsible for the content:
	
		
			  Website name and address  Quantifiable costs financial year 2007-08  (£) 
			  Independent Case Examiner  
			 www.ind-case-exam.org.uk — 
			   
			  Industrial Injuries Advisory Council  
			 www.iiac.org.uk — 
			   
			  Social Security Advisory Committee  
			 www.ssac.org.uk — 
			   
			  Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force  
			 www.emetaskforce.gov.uk —

Departmental Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and how much was spent on such bonuses in each of those years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is as follows:
	 End of year performance bonuses
	Senior civil service individual performance bonuses reward the delivery of in-year personal and business objectives or targets.
	For the senior civil service end-of-year bonuses are determined on an individual basis by the relevant DWP SCS pay committee. The number of bonuses awarded to senior civil servants in DWP and its agencies and totals paid in 2007 and 2008 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  DWP and its agencies 
			   Number  of bonuses awarded to senior  civil servants  Total  p aid   ( £  m illion) 
			 2007 202 1.73 
			 2008 208 1.82 
			  Notes: 1. Some individuals may have received more than one type of bonus payment in the year. 2. The total amount paid includes employers national insurance contribution (ERNIC). 
		
	
	 Special bonus and voucher payments
	Individuals may also be entitled to special bonus payments either as cash or vouchers. These are one-off recognition awards, payable at any time during the performance year and are not linked to the annual pay award. Information on special bonus and voucher payments is not collated separately for the senior civil service and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Electronic Government

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the accessibility of Government websites; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
	 Letter from Alan Bishop, dated December 2008:
	on what assessment has been made of the accessibility of Government websites.
	Standards for websites across government are the responsibility of the Central Office of Information (COI). Guidance on website accessibility was issued to Departments in June 2008 following public consultation. Departments are required to have central government website accessibility plans in place by 1 January 2009. Plans must be implemented and all websites must comply with the double-A W3C web accessibility standard by 1 January 2010. Departments will be requested to report their compliance with these measures.

EU Grants and Loans

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what allocation the UK has received from the European Union Globalisation Fund for the next 12 months; and what allocations of that funding have been made by his Department.

Tony McNulty: The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, or EGF, does not operate through making allocations to member states. It is a contingency fund as such and a member state has to make a specific application for matched funding from the EGF. There is no ring fenced EGF budget: rather, the fund can draw on up to €500 million per year from within the EU budget where there may be underspends or decommitted funds.

Jobcentre Plus: Vacancies

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many posts in the Jobcentre Plus network have been vacant in each of the last 12 months.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many posts in the Jobcentre Plus network have been vacant in each of the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The table below shows a snapshot of the number of internal and external vacant posts in each of the last 12 months within Jobcentre Plus.
	
		
			   Number of vacancies 
			  2007  
			 December 567 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 609 
			 February 642 
			 March 602 
			 April 786 
			 May 756 
			 June 627 
			 July 628 
			 August 513 
			 September 644 
			 October 646 
			 November 742 
			  Source:  Jobcentre Plus

Jobcentres: Scotland

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff were employed in job centres in each  (a) parliamentary constituency and  (b) local authority area in Scotland on (i) 1 January 2008 and (ii) 1 January 2009.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available broken down by constituency or local authority area.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants have returned to claiming JSA within 12 months of gaining employment in the latest year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on people with rheumatoid arthritis; whether rheumatoid arthritis is classified as a disability under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made on the effect of the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 on access to employment for people with rheumatoid arthritis;
	(3)  if he will bring forward proposals to strengthen the legal rights of people with rheumatoid arthritis in the workplace.

Jonathan R Shaw: Data are held by my Department in respect of information provided on claims made to incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. These data indicate that at February 2007 there were 26,470 claimants whose medical condition was recorded as "other rheumatoid arthritis"(1). Similarly, information on the disabling condition is collected for claimants of disability living allowance, but it does not separately record rheumatoid arthritis.
	Rheumatoid arthritis is not specifically classified as a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act as amended (DDA). In general, a person is considered to be disabled for the purposes of the Act if they have a "physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities". A person with rheumatoid arthritis will be protected by the provisions of the Act where he or she meets this definition of a disabled person. Furthermore, a person with rheumatoid arthritis may be able to benefit from special provisions in the Act which apply to persons with progressive or fluctuating conditions(2).
	My Department has made no estimate of the effect of the DDA on access to employment for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Access to employment by disabled people, including those with rheumatoid arthritis is influenced by a range of factors, for example, the economic climate, the availability of work programmes and in-work benefits, and the advice disabled people receive to help them to find work.
	It is not possible to isolate the effect of disability discrimination legislation on access to employment for disabled people.
	The Government have significantly improved and strengthened the DDA, so that it now provides a comprehensive and enforceable set of civil rights for disabled people. We have no plans to extend legal rights in the workplace specifically for people with rheumatoid arthritis. We are, however, taking the opportunity of the forthcoming Equality Bill to simplify and streamline the disability discrimination legislation to make it more accessible and effective for disabled people, including those with rheumatoid arthritis, to operate.
	(1) To qualify for IB, claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work which is called the Personal Capability Assessment. Therefore, the medical condition recorded on the IB claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefits, so for example, the decision for a customer claiming IB under any category would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities in the Personal Capability Assessment. These statistics provided are gathered by DWP for its own purposes and are based on DWP staff's interpretation of what can sometimes be quite vague information about the disabling condition on medical certificates and other corroborating evidence given by claimants. It is important to note that, where someone has more than one diagnosis or disabling condition, only the predominant one is currently recorded. In light of this, the information provided cannot be taken as a robust indication of the underlying condition that results in entitlement to IB.
	(2) Detailed information on the provisions relating to progressive and fluctuating conditions are included in the statutory guidance on the definition of disability (Disability Discrimination Act: Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability:
	http://83.137.212.42/sitearchive/DRC/pdf/DefnOfDisability.pdf

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Coastal Towns Network

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which principal seaside towns are (a) members and  (b) not members of the Coastal Towns Network (CTN); and whether there are plans to develop links between the CTN and coastal towns in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	The CTN is made up of representation from a range of national and regional stakeholders. Individual coastal towns are not on the CTN, but relevant towns and places are represented through local authority representation on the CTN programme, and other networks.
	So far the network has included the following local authorities in meetings and circulation of papers; Brighton and Hove city council, Thanet district council, Kent county council, Lincolnshire county council, East Lindsay district council, Boston district council. CTN included representation from the BURA (British Urban Regeneration Agency) seaside network (which has a membership of public and private sector organisations in excess of 120), Coastal Communities Alliance and BRADA (British Resorts and Destinations Association). There are plans to make links with similar networks in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the first half of 2009.

Community Relations: Islam

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 294W, on community relations: Islam, if she will place in the Library a copy of the report by the Change Institute on Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government has commissioned the Change Institute to conduct research on Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities. This work has not yet been completed.

Community Relations: Islam

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of establishing further community-based advisory groups modelled on the Young Muslim Advisory Group.

Sadiq Khan: The Department is committed to engaging with community-based groups across the Department's agenda. The Young Muslims Advisory Group has been in existence for less than six months. We will be monitoring the group's progress, and will use this information to inform any future decisions on establishing new community-based advisory groups.

Departmental Billing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) of 18 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1044W, on billing, if she will place in the Library a copy of her Department's letter to its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Sadiq Khan: The information has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Departmental Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to reply to the letters of 4 December and 30 December from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on the fees levied by local authorities in respect of discharge of planning conditions, reference FD5970.

Iain Wright: I replied to the hon. Member's correspondence on 2 February 2009.

Departmental Databases

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 300W, on departmental databases, how ACORN data are used in relation to  (a) her Department's House Price Index,  (b) local authority formula grant distribution and  (c) the citizenship survey; and how MOSAIC data are used in relation to the Neighbourhood Renewal Evaluation.

Sadiq Khan: The information requested is as follows:
	 Acorn :
	 (a) The CLG monthly house price index is a hedonic mix-adjusted index. The mix-adjustment weights are updated on an annual basis using a variety of variables. One of the variables is type of neighbourhood. This is produced by linking the house price dataset to Acorn data via the postcode.
	 (b) The distribution of formula grant takes into account the relative needs and relative resources of an authority relative to all other authorities providing the same service. There is also a central allocation and floor damping mechanism. The formulae used in the distribution system cover a wide range of socio-economic and demographic indicators
	For the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 settlement, Acorn data have been used for indicators that are used within the Police Relative Needs Formula (RNF) and the Fire and Rescue RNF.
	Annex D of the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2008-09 (HC 262) contains the description of each of the indicators used in the calculation of the allocation of formula grant.
	 (c) Recent analysis of the Citizenship Survey has not used Acorn data. Analysis using Acorn was last carried out using 2003 and 2005 data as reported in the annual reports. More recently, data are analysed using classifications such as the new Index of Multiple Deprivation, urban/rural, and social class. However, we provide Acorn in the publicly available Citizenship Survey dataset as we recognise that local area characteristics can play an important role in cohesion and data users may wish to use this.
	 Mosaic:
	The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal Evaluation requires the identification and analysis of socio-economic trends at small spatial scales (i.e. Lower Level Super Output Areas—LSOA) which is why the Department's contractors, Amion Consulting, have used Mosaic group data provided by Experian as it provides a typology of areas. It was initially used as part of the modelling analysis but was ultimately set aside due to extensive correlation with other socio-economic variables and consequential statistical problems.
	The Mosaic typology is based on a series of datasets assembled by Experian. Two of these datasets have also been used in the Evaluation:
	The ethnic origins dataset—which was also set aside in preference to Census data but is being used to identify areas with high concentrations of particular ethnic groups for subsequent analysis; and
	the length of residence dataset—which was employed as part of the transition-modelling process as it provides an indicative measure of population churn (identified as an important factor in influencing area change).

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether special advisers in her Department may claim overtime payments.

Sadiq Khan: Special advisers may not claim overtime payments, as set out in the Department's staff handbook and the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Derelict Land: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of recent levels of brownfield development in  (a) the City of Southampton,  (b) Test Valley borough and  (c) Eastleigh borough.

Iain Wright: In the period 2003 to 2006,
	 (a) 94 per cent. of the land changing to a developed use in Southampton was previously-developed.
	 (b) 71 per cent. of the land changing to a developed use in Test Valley was previously-developed.
	 (c) 71 per cent. of the land changing to a developed use in Eastleigh was previously-developed.
	"Brownfield" development has been interpreted as all development on previously- developed land, not just residential development. Information on residential development can be found on the CLG website at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningbuilding/planningstatistics/livetables/landusechange/

Disadvantaged

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which electoral wards make up the 10 per cent. most deprived in England and Wales.

John Healey: The English Indices of Deprivation have, since 2004, been produced at Lower Level Super Output Area (LSOA). These are smaller than wards and are designed to remain consistent in size, and over time, to allow more detailed identification of pockets of deprivation. This also overcomes difficulties in producing statistics for electoral wards associated with frequent boundary changes. There are 32,482 LSOAs in England with an average population of 1,500 people.
	I have placed a table of the 10 per cent. most deprived LSOAs from the English Indices of Deprivation 2007 in the Libraries of the House.
	The Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland administrations produce separate deprivation indices.

Economic and Monetary Union

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the Communities and Local Government Euro Changeover Plan 2007.

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of her Department's most recent Euro Changeover Plan; and on what date the plan was last updated.

Sadiq Khan: The Communities and Local Government Euro Changeover Plan was placed in the Library in February 2006.
	There has been no change of note to Communities and Local Government, its agencies and NDPB's Euro Changeover Plans since then.
	The Department has therefore not produced a further version of such plans.

Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions her Department has had with outside organisations to discuss policy on reducing the effect of the recession on matters within her Department's responsibility.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government has frequent discussions with a very wide range of external stakeholders across the full breadth of our responsibilities, covering numerous issues including reducing the impact of the recession.

Economic Situation: Hertfordshire

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what briefing notes the Minister for the East of England has received on the business environment in Hertfordshire since 1 August 2008.

Sadiq Khan: The Regional Minister receives regular briefing on a range of issues which impact on the business and economic environment across the region and within Hertfordshire.

Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1201-2W, on empty property, if she will place in the Library a copy of the most recent list of vacant domestic dwellings, broken down by  (a) local authority and  (b) ward.

Iain Wright: The most recent statistics on vacant dwellings at local authority level are for October 2008 and these have been placed in the Library. The latest statistics on vacant dwellings published at ward level are for April 2005. These are on the Office for National Statistics' Neighbourhood Statistics website at:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/datasetList.do?JSAllowed=true&Function=%24ph=60&CurrentPageld =60&step=l&CurrentTreeIndex=1&searchString=&datasetFamilyId= 1618&Next.x=11&Next.y=16
	Statistics for 2006, 2007 and 2008 are due for publication later this year.

Fines

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what administrative financial penalties may be levied by her Department and its agencies.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its agencies have no powers to levy administrative financial penalties.

Fire Services: Crimes of Violence

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters required medical treatment as a result of assaults in each of the last three years, broken down by fire and rescue service area.

Sadiq Khan: This information is not held centrally.

Fire Services: Defibrillators

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of operational fire appliances carry defibrillators.

Sadiq Khan: Information on which front-line appliances carry a defibrillator is not centrally held. However, recent research on co-responding indicated that, as at the end of 2007, over one-third of fire appliances had a defibrillator on board.

Fire Services: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons new burdens funding will not be provided in relation to Project Fireguard.

Sadiq Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 771W.

Government Office for the Regions

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Local Authority Leaders' Boards will be based in the Government office regions.

Iain Wright: Yes, the intention is that Local Authority Leaders' Boards would be set up to cover the same regions as covered by Government offices and regional development agencies.

Government Office for the Regions: EU Grants and Loans

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding for 2000-2006 was unspent  (a) in each Government Office region and  (b) in each EDRF programme; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The 2000 to 2006 ERDF programmes have so far recorded spend of over €5 billion. There are over 2,900 ERDF grant claims being processed in our systems and more are expected as projects make their final claims for grant. Until these claims are all paid we will not have a final spend position but expect it to show successful take up of the available funds—at least equal to previous rounds of ERDF.

Housing

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local housing authorities under section 226 of the Housing Act 2004; and when such guidance was last issued or revised.

Iain Wright: The Government issued guidance to local housing authorities on Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessments under section 226 of the Housing Act 2004 in October 2007.

Housing: Construction

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of  (a) all newly constructed dwellings were constructed on previously-developed land,  (b) all dwellings on previously-developed land were newly constructed dwellings on previous residential land and  (c) all newly-constructed dwellings were new dwellings on previously-residential land in each (i) region, (ii) county and (iii) local authority area in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: In 2007, on a provisional estimate, 77 per cent. of all new dwellings (including conversions) were built on previously-developed land, compared to 76 per cent. in 2006. Land Use Change Statistics Live Table 212 gives a regional breakdown of the percentage of all new dwellings that were built on previously-developed land. Land Use Change Statistics Live Table 213 gives a local authority level breakdown of the percentage of all new dwellings that were built on previously-developed land. Both tables can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningbuilding/planningstatistics/livetables/landusechange/
	Tables have been deposited in the Library providing county level estimates of  (a) all newly constructed dwellings that were constructed on previously-developed land, and regional, county and local authority level estimates of  (b) all dwellings on previously-developed land were newly constructed dwellings on previous residential land and  (c) all newly-constructed dwellings were new dwellings on previously-residential land. Estimates at a local authority and county level are provided as multi-year averages because of the unrobust and volatile nature of the data at spatial levels lower than Government office region.

Housing: Learning Disability

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to increase the number of houses available in the West Suffolk area to enable people with learning difficulties to live independently.

Iain Wright: Local authorities are responsible for assessing the housing needs in their particular locality in order to deliver the most appropriate housing solutions for their residents including those with specific needs.
	In the East of England, based on recommendations within the Regional Housing Board investment plan, the Homes and Communities Agency has available £78.21 million from the National Affordable Housing Programme over the three years 2008-11 to fund Supported Housing Projects, which includes specialist provision for people with learning disabilities. Allocations of these funds are dependent on suitable schemes being submitted to the HCA for approval and, where necessary, supporting people funding being available through the local authority.
	People with learning disabilities may also benefit from our standard HomeBuy products and through our specialist Home Ownership for People with long term disabilities (HOLD) product. HOLD enables purchasers with disabilities to select a home on the open market, in the location of their choice that is suitable for their needs and then buy it on shared ownership terms with a housing association. Interested applicants may apply through HomeBuy Agents in the usual way and will be referred to a specialist housing association provider, as necessary.

Housing: Mortgages

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of people who have  (a) a mortgage on a domestic property and  (b) own a property outright.

Iain Wright: It is estimated that there were 8 million households buying with a mortgage and 6.7 million households who were outright owners in England in 2008. These estimates are based on data from the ONS Labour Force Survey.

Housing: Planning Permission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether section 106 agreements may be attached to household extensions in cases where the proposed extension  (a) does and  (b) does not have permitted development rights.

Iain Wright: Planning obligations (also known as section 106 agreements) can be attached to a planning permission to make acceptable development which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms.
	Research commissioned by the Department shows that in 2005-06 only 6.4 per cent. of planning permissions had an obligation attached to them and that the majority of these obligations were attached to large development.
	New revisions to planning regulations for General Permitted Development Orders, announced by the Government on 10 September 2008, meant that from 1( )October 2008 the majority of homeowners will no longer need to get planning permission when extending their existing homes.
	Therefore, for the majority of household extensions with permitted development rights planning permission would not be required and they would therefore not be liable for planning obligations. For those developments which do not have permitted development rights, planning permission may be required and therefore a section 106 obligation could be attached to the permission.

Housing: Regeneration

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department has allocated to each housing market renewal pathfinder for each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend Baroness Andrews to Lord Greaves on 23 January 2009,  Official Report, column WA239.

Housing: Regeneration

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average cost of a  (a) new build,  (b) refurbishment,  (c) acquisition and  (d) demolition in a housing market renewal pathfinder in the latest year for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 17 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 791-92W.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1146W, on housing: sustainable development, if she will place in the Library a copy of BS 5906:2005.

Iain Wright: BS 5906:2005 waste management in buildings is one of the many standards that are produced and published by BSI—British Standards, a division of the BSI Group. BSI Group is non profit making and all profits are reinvested to create new standards. The documents are not published by my Department and as such I am unable to place a copy in the Library. All BS standards are available to view in the British Library or in the BSI Library in Chiswick (for a nominal fee). They are also available on the BSI website at:
	http://www.bsigroup.com/en/standards-and-publications/online-subscription-products/BSOL

Local Government Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her estimate is of the average change in per capita Government funding in  (a) district councils,  (b) county councils,  (c) London boroughs,  (d) metropolitan councils,  (e) existing unitary councils and  (f) new unitary councils between 2008-09 and 2009-10.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1074W.

Local Government Services: Public Participation

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local community groups on accepting community transfer of libraries and other facilities.

Sadiq Khan: There has been no specific guidance issued on the transfer of library facilities. General guidance was published by the Department in July 2008 on Managing Risks in Asset Transfer. The Asset Transfer Unit, which is hosted by the Development Trusts Association and funded by the Department, opened for business in January 2009 to raise the profile and importance of transferring assets to communities, and will respond to requests from community groups and public bodies for information and advice.

Local Government Services: Public Participation

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the transfer of facilities to community groups.

Sadiq Khan: The findings of the Quirk review of Community Management and Ownership of Public Assets was published in May 2007 and made available to every local authority in England. In July 2008 every council leader and chief executive in England was sent a copy of 'Managing Risks in Asset Transfer: A Guide' which is a practical guide on managing and minimising risk. Additionally the Department has funded the Advancing Assets demonstration programme where 50 local authorities and community partnerships have been supported to facilitate community asset transfer and 60 more will be supported between 2009 and 2011.

Local Government: EU Grants and Loans

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations her Department received from  (a) regional development agencies,  (b) Government offices of the regions,  (c) local authorities and  (d) Objective 1 and 2 convergence partnerships on the extension to the deadline offered to all EU countries to spend unused 2000-2006 European regional development funds; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Government took into account views from the regions, including on the extent to which any additional resources resulting from programme extension could be used given the lack of flexibility in the EC's offer of extension and decided that there was insufficient benefit to justify changing existing spending plans.

Local Government: Publicity

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the revision of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Government Publicity.

Sadiq Khan: Our current consultation on proposals to revise the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Government Publicity ends on 12 March 2009. We intend that any revisions we make following consultation should come into force by April 2010, in parallel with any guidance issued on the proposed new duty on councils to promote democracy, for which the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill makes provision.

Local Government: Repairs and Maintenance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to fund the floor damping system from central Government funds.

John Healey: Floor damping is already met from central Government funds. It ensures that every authority in England will receive at least a minimum increase in formula grant year-on-year on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function. The cost of the floor is paid for by scaling back grant increases above the floor. This provides stability, while allowing some of the underlying change in grant to come through.
	We consulted in 2005 on the mechanism for floor damping. The overwhelming majority of responses to the consultation preferred the existing system for funding the floor, by scaling back grant increases above the floor, and we accepted this as the way forward.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will review the processes employed by the Boundary Committee to reach a decision on the options of local government structure in Suffolk.

John Healey: The Boundary Committee is a statutory committee of the Electoral Commission which reports to Parliament and not Government, and its review processes are a matter for the Committee itself. The Secretary of State will have regard to all relevant matters when considering any advice provided by the Boundary Committee in response to the Secretary of State's request for advice of 6 February 2008.

Local Government: Waste Disposal

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities include measures on waste in their local area agreement 35 local improvement targets.

John Healey: 126 out of 150 local areas have at least one designated target in their local area agreement, covering measures on waste. All LAAs are publicly available on the IDeA website at:
	http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8399555
	and contain details of the partner agencies that are signed up to targets.

Local Spending Reports

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reason is for the time taken by her Department to publish a consultation document on local spending reports.

Sadiq Khan: The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 requires the Secretary of State to make arrangements for the production of local spending reports; to make the first arrangements before 23 April 2009; and to consult affected persons before doing so. This is a complex task and we have been working across Government to map available information. We aim to consult shortly.

National Policy Statements

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the publication of national policy statements (NPSs); and what subject topics each NPS will cover.

Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government published a Route Map for implementation of the Infrastructure Planning Commission regime, including the current timetable for preparation of national policy statements, on its website on 27 January. Copies are also in the House Library.
	The Government are planning initially to produce 12 NPSs covering the following infrastructure sectors:
	Overarching Energy (setting the context for the other five energy NPSs) as follows:
	Renewables
	Fossil Fuel
	Electricity Networks (i.e. power lines etc.)
	Oil and Gas Infrastructure (e.g. pipelines and storage)
	Nuclear Power
	Ports
	National Networks (i.e. strategic roads and railways, including strategic rail and freight interchanges)
	Airports
	Waste Water (e.g. sewage treatment infrastructure)
	Water Supply (e.g. reservoirs)
	Hazardous Waste (e.g. high temperature incineration).
	The first tranche—the NPSs on Non-Nuclear Energy and Ports—are currently scheduled for publication for consultation in the summer and then designation in early 2010.
	Our current plans for the later NPSs are as follows:
	We plan to start the consultation on the Nuclear NPS in 2009 following on from the package of non-nuclear energy NPSs, and aim to designate this NPS in the spring of 2010.
	The National Networks NPS is scheduled for consultation and parliamentary scrutiny in autumn 2009 with designation later in 2010.
	We expect consultation on the Waste Water NPS late in 2009, with the Hazardous Waste NPS published for consultation in spring 2010, the Water Supply NPS later in 2010, and the Airports NPS planned for public consultation by 2011.

Ordnance Survey: Visits Abroad

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1150-1W, on Ordnance Survey: visits abroad, what the purpose was of each visit.

Iain Wright: A table showing the countries and cities visited by Ordnance Survey in the time period specified along with the purpose for each visit has been deposited in the Library. In some cases the location listed was an intermediate business stop during a longer journey to other listed destinations.

Partnerships UK

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what remuneration Baroness Ford has received for her work for Partnerships UK on surplus public sector land in 2008-09.

Iain Wright: This Department has not provided any direct remuneration to Baroness Ford.
	Partnerships UK is a dedicated centre of expertise available to the public sector to provide strategic support for delivering successful projects and programmes and has an established framework agreement with Communities and Local Government. Communities and Local Government contracted with Partnerships UK, using its framework agreement, to provide work required by the Government to increase the pace of change in the surplus public sector land programme. The maximum fee payable to Partnerships UK for this work is £75,000 plus VAT. Partnerships UK in turn contracted with the Royal Bank of Canada Europe Limited to provide specialist advice in relation to that commission. Baroness Ford is employed by the Bank as its director of social infrastructure and has specialist knowledge of housing and regeneration. The contractual relationship that Communities and Local Government entered into was with Partnerships UK and this Department is not a party to their contractual arrangements with the Royal Bank of Canada, nor to the Bank's contractual arrangements with Baroness Ford.

Plain English

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department has taken to adopt Plain English standards in its publications.

Sadiq Khan: The Department is a corporate member of the Plain English Campaign, which allows us to seek advice or request Crystal Mark status for our publications on a case by case basis.
	For information on the publications which the Department has submitted for Crystal Mark status since 2005 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) on 30 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1286W.

Planning Permission: Greater London

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to intervene in planning applications which relate to development of areas in London in which war memorials are located.

Iain Wright: The Government's policy on the call-in of planning applications was set out by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn) on 16 June 1999,  Official Report, column 138W. The Government have no plans to alter this policy at this time.

Planning Permission: Parking

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning policy guidance is in force in relation to the use of car parking charges in developments to encourage alternative modes of transport.

Iain Wright: Planning Policy Guidance note 13: Transport (PPG13), published in 2001, asks local authorities to use parking charges to encourage use of alternative modes of transport. Regional Transport Strategies should set out the longer term objectives, ensure consistency and avoid wasteful competition between locations. Within this framework, local authorities should set appropriate levels and charges for parking in their local transport plans that do not undermine the vitality of town centres. Local authorities can refuse permission for developments that are not in accordance with the policies set out in their plans.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her  (a) powers and  (b) responsibilities are to (i) approve and (ii) amend the final versions of the integrated regional strategies.

Iain Wright: Part 5 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill covers our provisions for regional strategies. The Bill is currently being considered in the other place. Clause 72 sets out the proposed powers and responsibilities of the Secretary of State in approving the regional strategy.

Zanzibar eProcurement Service

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of her Department's contracts with suppliers are handled through the Zanzibar eProcurement Service; and what estimate she has made of the resultant savings achieved in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Sadiq Khan: Four of our supplier contracts are currently handled through the Zanzibar eProcurement Service. For Communities electronic purchase to pay systems are most suitable for low value high volume requirements and the department uses Zanzibar to handle stationery, IT consumables and temporary agency staff.
	Savings from electronic purchase to pay systems were estimated, for the purpose of building a business case, at £41 for each transaction. Zanzibar provides catalogue hosting and management for our electronic purchase to pay systems. The future use of Zanzibar is currently being reviewed in the Department.

Zanzibar eProcurement Service

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of the potential annual saving which would result from the full-scale implementation of the Zanzibar eProcurement Service;
	(2)  what initiatives, procedures or training programmes her Department has to ensure the take-up of the Zanzibar eProcurement Service by  (a) agencies and non-departmental public bodies within her Department and  (b) local authorities.

Sadiq Khan: The Department is currently reviewing the use of the Zanzibar eProcurement Service and there are no plans to roll out the service to its agencies and non-departmental bodies or local authorities.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what records the Government Equalities Office maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Maria Eagle: Information relating to the recording of hospitality expenditure is kept locally within the GEO's finance team and monitored by internal audit and externally by the National Audit Office. Expenses for hospitality can be claimed by GEO's director general and deputy directors in accordance with departmental limits. The provision of alcohol falls under the hospitality account. We maintain records of expenditure on this account.

WALES

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) agency and  (b) temporary staff in each financial year since 2005-06.

Paul Murphy: Amounts spent by Wales Office on agency staff in each financial year since 2005 were:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 91,923 
			 2006-07 19,808 
			 2007-08 1,585 
		
	
	Amounts spent for temporary staff were:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 55,488 
			 2006-07 8,332 
			 2007-08 69,845

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Manpower

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff have been employed in each of his Department's country offices in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009.

Ivan Lewis: Following the National Audit Office's October 2008 report on the Department for International Development's (DFID) work in insecure environments and improvements to the way DFID ensures the safety and security of its staff, the Department does not publicise staff numbers, or changes in staff numbers, for each country office.

Developing Countries: Debts

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that new loans to poor countries do not result in unsustainable levels of debt, with particular reference to loans for initiatives to address  (a) climate change and  (b) food shortages.

Michael Foster: The UK has led international initiatives to resolve the debt problems of the poorest countries and is committed to ensuring that they do not reoccur. We have worked to:
	Develop the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) which helps countries to take informed decisions about new borrowing.
	Ensure the DSF is used by the Multilateral Development Banks to determine whether their assistance to poor countries is in the form of grants or highly concessional loans.
	Ensure that new ECGD-guaranteed lending to low income countries is consistent with the DSF and will contribute to their development, and secured agreement at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that other Export Credit Agencies do the same.
	One of our major responses to the challenge of climate change has been to set up the climate investment funds (CIFs). Low and middle income countries will benefit from these resources, and the CIFs will provide grants and concessional loans. For low income countries assistance will be consistent with the DSF.
	DFID has committed £868 million in response to the food crisis. All of DFID's aid is given as grants and therefore does not contribute to debt accumulation. The World Bank allocated $1.2 billion (£840 million) to the global food crisis response programme. $200 million (£140 million) of this was in the form of grants for the poorest countries.

Development Aid

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that the Government's policy on attachment of economic policy conditions to aid and debt relief is extended to multilateral lenders, with particular reference to the IMF and World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries debt relief initiative.

Michael Foster: The UK's policy is clear that conditionality must not be used to impose policy on governments and that conditions should be limited to issues essential to ensure programmes are successful. The UK continues to press the World Bank and IMF to reform their conditionality practice in line with our approach and we have had some success. The World Bank has stopped using prescriptive conditionality and has adopted good practice principles on conditionality. These provide clear guidelines to staff and emphasise a need for country ownership and fewer conditions. The IMF also agreed to limit the number of conditions used, to justify each condition and focus on major macroeconomic issues.
	The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative provides large scale irrevocable debt cancellation. It is therefore essential that we can have confidence that debt relief will be used in ways that will benefit poor people. Conditions are agreed with each country, focussing debt relief on poverty reduction, economic management and financial accountability. The UK has pressed the World Bank and IMF to ensure conditions reflect countries' priorities and are applied flexibly where appropriate. Several countries have received their debt cancellation without having met all triggers, but when strong overall progress had clearly been made.

Haiti: Debts

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will support  (a) Haiti's accelerated progress through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries debt cancellation process and  (b) a moratorium on Haiti's debt service payments.

Michael Foster: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank anticipate that Haiti will complete the HIPC Initiative in the next few months, at which point it will receive irrevocable debt cancellation. The UK Government therefore do not believe an accelerated progress through the Initiative or a moratorium on debt service is required. Haiti has been receiving relief on its debt service since 2006 and is not making any payments to the UK Government.
	The international community recognises the recent challenges Haiti has faced—hurricane damage, and high fuel and food costs—and has provided exceptional assistance. For example, the Inter-American Development Bank, the IMF and the World Bank have agreed additional assistance amounting to a total of $100 million (approximately £70 million).

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the security and safety of people within the humanitarian space which has been designated by the government of Sri Lanka in the northern region of the country;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the security situation in the northern region of Sri Lanka on the ability of humanitarian convoys to deliver assistance to those who are displaced.

Michael Foster: The security and safety of civilians in northern Sri Lanka, and their access to relief supplies is difficult to assess but causes great concern, especially following the Sri Lankan forces' recent offensive. We are extremely concerned at reports of civilian casualties within the designated safe zone and urge all parties to ensure the safety of non-combatants. We particularly deplore the recent shelling of a hospital.
	We constantly monitor the situation through our high commission and other sources, supplemented by field visits by DFID humanitarian staff. We have recently programmed £2.5 million humanitarian funding through the UN, Red Cross and non-government organisations. We are sending another humanitarian mission in the next few weeks and have agreed a further £2.5 million humanitarian funding.
	The problem will not be resolved by funding alone. We are resolute in pressing for better humanitarian access for aid convoys and other relief within safe humanitarian space. The Foreign Secretary repeated this to President Rajapakse on 30 January.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Numeracy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adult learners received basic numeracy skills qualifications under the skills for life funding scheme in each of the last five years, broken down by level of qualification.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 27 January 2009
	The following table shows LSC-funded Skills for Life achievementsthe number of adult learners (aged 16+) achieving LSC-funded accredited Skills for Life numeracy qualifications in the 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2007/08 academic years. Information on Skills for Life achievements is not available prior to 2004/05.
	
		
			  LSC-funded accredited Skills for Life numeracy achievements, 2004/05 to 2007/06 
			   2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08( 1) 
			 Total numeracy achievements 243,500 326,400 359,500 386,800 
			  Of which: 
			 entry level 22,700 28,900 36,000 42,000 
			  Of which: 
			 Level 1 118,900 167,100 181,400 190,600 
			  Of which: 
			 Level 2 111,600 145,000 159,100 171,200 
			 (1) Provisional  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and may not sum to the total. 2. These figures include learners at Further Education Colleges (including learndirect), Work Based Learning (including apprenticeships, Train to Gain and entry to Employment) and Adult Safeguarded learning.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many applications for capital funding from the Building Colleges for the Future programme were made by  (a) further education and  (b) sixth form colleges (i) in the 2006-07 academic year and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what capital expenditure from the Building Colleges for the Future programme in the  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09 academic years has been allocated to (i) further education and (ii) sixth form colleges;
	(3)  how many projects relating to  (a) further education and  (b) sixth form colleges were affected by the moratorium on decisions on capital spending under the Building Colleges for the Future programme;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the value of projects affected by the moratorium on decisions on capital spending under the Building Colleges for the Future programme.

Si�n Simon: In 1997, the total capital expenditure in further education colleges in England was nil. Since 1997, this Government have invested 2.4 billion in redeveloping and modernising further education colleges. In addition, we have plans to invest a further 2.3 billion in the next three years. Currently more than 250 projects are under way and funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC)helped by the recent decision to accelerate 110 million in 2008-09 from future budgets to help beat the downturn.
	In total, since the programme began, nearly 700 projects, at 330 colleges have been agreed.
	The pace of demand for capital funding has increased. In addition, there are signs that the ability of colleges to raise their own funds for proposed projects is being affected by the downturn.
	It is for this reason that over the next few weeks the Learning and Skills Council is working closely with colleges that have submitted or are working on bids, to look at the individual current positions before making further funding decisions. As a result of this, the consideration of a small number of applications that were due for decisionboth in principle and in detailhas been deferred from December to March.
	As your question relates to an operational matter for the LSC, Mark Haysom, the LSC chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in both Libraries.

Departmental Advertising

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many advertisements to attract students into higher education were placed by his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997; how many were placed  (a) in print newspapers and magazines,  (b) on a website and  (c) on television and radio; and what the cost was in each case.

David Lammy: The information requested of the Department is as follows. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was formed in June 2007, following the machinery of Government changes, since this date/and as a result we are only able to provide information from June 2007. In 2007/08 DIUS spent 2,859,791 and in 2008/09 is budgeted to spend 2,255,791 on all advertising to attract students into higher education.
	The breakdown is as follows
	
		
			  2007/08 (actual spend) 
			
			  (a) Newspapers and magazines  
			 Newspapers 460,000 
			 Magazines 31,703 
			   
			  (b) Online/website 160,000 
			  (c) TV and  radio  ( budgeted)  
			 TV 1,145,813 
			 Radio 374,173 
		
	
	
		
			  2008/09 (budgeted) 
			
			  (a) Newspapers and magazines  
			 Magazines 43,907 
			   
			  (b) Online/website 180,000 
			   
			  (c) TV and radio  
			 TV 1,201,851 
			 Radio 395,149

Departmental Recruitment

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to recruit scientifically-trained civil servants; and what timetable he has set for the recruitment process.

Si�n Simon: The Department recruits staff through the civil service recruitment code that allows Departments to ask for specific skills and backgrounds to be key features in recruitment advertisements if they are required. A number of previous posts have lead to the recruitment of scientifically-trained employees.
	We will continue to ask for such in some of our future recruitment campaigns where relevant. In addition we also take advantage of the science and engineering fast stream (Fast Track graduate recruitment) where each year we take some graduates from a Government-wide scheme.

Further Education: Finance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the interest payments made by further education colleges to finance their capital programmes in the latest year for which figures are available.

Si�n Simon: Since 1997, this Government have invested 2.4 billion in redeveloping and modernising further education colleges. In addition we have plans to invest a further 2.3 billion in the next three years. In total, since the programme began, nearly 700 projects, at 330 colleges have been agreed.
	The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for the administration of the further education capital budget. However, as independent providers, colleges themselves are responsible for the management and financing of their capital projects. As a result, the Department does not collect information relating to the level of interest payments made by colleges regarding the financing of their capital programmes.
	However, the Department is aware of the important role finance can play for colleges and is being kept informed by the LSC and sector representatives about the cost and availability of finance for the sector.

Higher Education: March, Cambridgeshire

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what progress has been made on plans for the new campus of the College of West Anglia proposal for the town of March.

David Lammy: Since 1997, this Government have invested 2.4 billion in redeveloping and modernising further education colleges. In addition we have plans to invest a further 2.3 billion in the next three years.
	In total, since the programme began, nearly 700 projects, at 330 colleges have been agreedincluding support for the College of West Anglia.
	But the pace of demand for capital funding has increased. Projects and the scale of Government funding they require are becoming increasingly ambitious. In addition there are signs that the ability of colleges to raise their own funds for proposed projects is being affected by the downturn.
	It is for this reason that over the next few weeks the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is working closely with colleges that have submitted or are working on bids, to look at the individual current positions before making further funding decisions. As a result of this the consideration of a small number of applications that were due for decisionboth in principle and in detailhas been deferred from December to March.
	As the hon. Member's question relates to an operational matter for the LSC, Mark Haysom, the LSC chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in both Libraries.

Higher Education: Overseas Students

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many EU-domiciled undergraduate students began courses at higher education institutions in 2008;
	(2)  how many EU-domiciled undergraduate students are expected to begin courses at higher education institutions in 2009.

David Lammy: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The latest available figures for the number of EU domiciled full-time undergraduate entrants to UK higher education institutions are shown in the table. Figures for the 2008/09 academic year will be available in January 2010.
	
		
			  EU domiciled undergraduate entrants by mode of study, UK higher education institutions, academic year 2007/08 
			   Number 
			 Full-time 25,715 
			 Part-time 9,050 
			 Total 34,765 
			  Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	EU domiciles make up 4.4 per cent. of all undergraduate entrants, compared to 89.2 per cent. for UK domiciles and 6.4 per cent. for non-EU domiciles.
	Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that 21,255 EU domiciled applicants were accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses at UK higher education institutions in 2008. This is compared to 20,661 in 2007, a rise of 2.9 per cent. Not all EU domiciled applicants apply through UCAS, some will apply to the institutions directly. Final figures for applicants accepted for entry in 2009 will be available in January 2010.
	The admission of students, whatever their nationality, is a matter for individual higher education institutions.

Higher Education: South East

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which colleges in  (a) London and  (b) Kent are affected by the Learning and Skills Council's decision to postpone capital projects by three months.

Si�n Simon: Since 1997, this Government have invested 2.4 billion in redeveloping and modernising further education colleges. In addition we have plans to invest a further 2.3 billion in the next three years.
	In total, since the programme began, nearly 700 projects, at 330 colleges have been agreed.
	But the pace of demand for capital funding has increased. In addition there are signs that the ability of colleges to raise their own funds for proposed projects is being affected by the downturn.
	It is for this reason that over the next few weeks the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is working closely with colleges that have submitted or are working on bids, to look at the individual current positions before making further funding decisions. As a result of this the consideration of a small number of applications that were due for decisionboth in principle and in detailhas been deferred from December to March.
	As the hon. Member's question relates to an operational matter for the LSC, I have asked Mark Haysom, the LSC chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in both Libraries.

London Metropolitan University

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the student completion rate was at the London Metropolitan University in the last year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: Figures from table T5 of the Performance Indicators in Higher Education show the proportion of full-time first degree starters expected to neither obtain an award nor transfer, at London Metropolitan University in the 2005/06 academic year, was 21.2 per cent. Figures for the 2006/07 academic year will be available in June 2009.

Mass Media

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the cost of his Department's contracts with press monitoring services was in each of the last five years.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills' (DIUS) media monitoring is supplied by Energy Data Service Limited (EDS) and the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU).
	DIUS was formed on 28 June 2007 as a result of the machinery of Government changes. Information on the costs of contracts for the provision of media monitoring services to DIUS is therefore only available for the current financial year.
	Available figures for the annual costs of each contract are as follows:
	 EDS
	2008/09: 39,943 (to date)
	 MMU
	2008/09: 42,125 (annual subscription).

Students: Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding is allocated per student for  (a) full-time undergraduates,  (b) part-time undergraduates,  (c) full-time foundation degree students,  (d) part-time foundation degree students,  (e) advanced adult apprentices,  (f) full-time level 3 students in further education colleges and  (g) part-time students in further education colleges; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The total expenditure provided by the Department (provisional 2006-07 figures) per full-time equivalent higher education student is 5,179 in cash terms. This is based on student support, teaching and research expenditure. Further information on the figure can be found in the DIUS 2008 departmental report (table 16, annex 2). It is not possible to produce like-for-like figures for the precise data requested in the question and the precise level of funding for each student is determined by a wide range of factors including choice of subject, location and intensity of study, previous qualifications and personal and family circumstances.
	The funding provided by the Department and the Department for Children Schools and Families (2006-07 figures) per full-time equivalent further education student is 5,240. Further information on the figure can be found in the DIUS 2008 departmental report (table 15, annex 2). Funding at course level will vary depending on factors such as subject area, the location and learner success rates of the provider and other factors.
	Relevant LSC guidance on funding for 2008/09 can be found at
	http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/National/LSC-P-NAT-080078_FundingRates.pdf

Westminster University

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with the University of Westminster on the closure of the Harrow Ceramics School; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Ministers and officials have had no discussions on this issue. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates grant to institutions independently of Government according to its statutory duties. It is for individual institutions to make decisions on the funding of particular courses and Ministers have no powers to intervene in those decisions. In this case I understand the future of the BA Ceramics course is currently under review, but no final decision has been taken.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Cabinet Office Leadership Conference

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who attended the Cabinet Office Leadership Conference on 17 March 2008; who the speakers were; and what the agenda was.

Tom Watson: The event on 17 March was for the senior civil servants working in the Cabinet Office. The speakers were drawn from the Cabinet Office Board. Delegates were informed of the outcome of the Cabinet Office's People Survey 2007. The agenda covered the key challenges for the Cabinet Office.

Childbirth

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of live births were to  (a) non-UK born and  (b) foreign national mothers and fathers in each (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority are in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what percentage of live births were to (a) non-UK born and (b) foreign national mothers and fathers in each (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority are in each year since 1997. (253925)
	The tables attached provide the percentage of live births that were to (a) mothers (table 1) and fathers (table 2) not born in the United Kingdom, in each (i) primary care organisation and (ii) strategic health authority in England, for each year from 1997 to 2007 (the latest year available). A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Figures for the percentage of live births that were to (b) foreign national mothers and fathers are not available, as nationality is not recorded at birth registration.

Childbirth

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many live births there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by the age of the mother.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for information on how many live births there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by age of mother. (254149)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2007. The attached table shows the number of live births in England and Wales in 2007, broken down by age of mother.
	
		
			  Live births by age of mother, England and Wales, 2007 
			  Age of mother  Live births 
			 Under 15 211 
			 15 928 
			 16 3,381 
			 17 8,188 
			 18 13,206 
			 19 18,891 
			 20 22,074 
			 21 24,325 
			 22 26,491 
			 23 27,709 
			 24 30,185 
			 25 32,553 
			 26 35,351 
			 27 38,099 
			 28 38,268 
			 29 38,299 
			 30 38,424 
			 31 40,046 
			 32 39,556 
			 33 37,627 
			 34 35,471 
			 35 32,811 
			 36 28,461 
			 37 22,574 
			 38 18,034 
			 39 13,500 
			 40 9,543 
			 41 6,728 
			 42 4,143 
			 43 2,355 
			 44 1,272 
			 45 601 
			 Over 45 708 
			 Total 690,013 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Civil Servants: Retirement

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the timetable is for removing the mandatory retirement age policy across the Civil Service; and whether such removal will apply to senior civil servants.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Secretary announced on 1 October 2008 that Departments and agencies who had not already done so will introduce a policy of having a no mandatory retirement age for staff by March 2010. A review is currently under way to assess the potential impact of extending such a policy to members of the senior civil service.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in the Prime Minister's Office who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Tom Watson: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	Permanent Cabinet Office employees are paid an annual salary, rather than an hourly rate. Permanent employees are paid within the Cabinet Office grading structure, where the grade of each role and the corresponding salary range is determined by the demands of the role.
	Temporary Cabinet Office employees (on a fixed term contract of up to one year) are also paid an annual salary within the Cabinet Office pay ranges, with the grade again determined by the demands of the role.
	As such, temporary and permanent employees at the same grade will both be paid within the same pay range.
	Temporary staff not employed directly by the Cabinet Office (such as agency staff or fee-paid staff) are not Cabinet Office employees. Hourly rates of pay are not determined by the Cabinet Office and may be different than for temporary and permanent Cabinet Office employees.

Departmental Surveys

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to staff survey response metric of the capable Departments key performance indicator for Cabinet Office Departmental Strategic Objective 5, what proportion of civil servants in his Department  (a) agreed and  (b) disagreed with the statement that (i) this organisation as a whole is well-managed and (b) overall I have confidence in the senior managers in my organisation in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: Details of the results of the latest Cabinet Office People Survey 2007 are published on the Civil Service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/staff_surveys.asp
	A copy of this information has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  what the policy of  (a) the Prime Minister's Office and  (b) the Office of the Leader of the House is on granting staff time off in lieu for working (i) in lunch breaks, (ii) in evenings and (iii) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in  (a) the Prime Minister's Office and  (b) the Office of the Leader of the House for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(3)  what the policy of the Cabinet Office and its agencies is on granting staff time off in lieu for working  (a) in lunch breaks,  (b) in evenings and  (c) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in  (a) the Cabinet Office and  (b) its agencies for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours, in the last year for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: The Prime Minister's Office and the Leader's Office are part of the Cabinet Office.
	There are times when any Cabinet Office employee may be required to work during meal breaks, evenings and other occasions beyond their conditioned hours. They can apply for and be granted time off in lieu equivalent to the actual additional hours worked rather than claiming overtime payment.
	The number of days off in lieu granted to the Department's employees could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Disposable Income

Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of their income was spent by  (a) the poorest 10 per cent. and  (b) the richest 10 per cent. of the population on (i) food and (ii) fuel in the latest year for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster asking what proportion of their income was spent by (a) the poorest 10 per cent and (b) the richest 10 per cent of the population on (i) food and (ii) fuel in the latest year for which figures are available (254113).
	In 2007, the average weekly household expenditure on food, as a percentage of gross income, was 22 per cent for the lowest income decile group and 3 per cent for the highest income decile group. For fuel, the percentages were 11 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.
	Estimates of expenditure on food and fuel are based on the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS), an annual survey of approximately 6,200 households in the United Kingdom. Further information on the EFS is available in the annual publication 'Family Spending' which can be found on the National Statistics website
	(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=361Pos=lColRank=lRank=272.).

Emergencies: EC Action

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in other European Union countries on proposals for an EU-wide civil protection rapid reaction force; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The UK supports the principle of member states cooperating voluntarily in the response to disasters but not the creation of a stand-by European civil protection force. Such a force would require pre-commitment of member states' resources and would go beyond the current legal framework of the Community's Civil Protection Mechanism. The current voluntary approach to mutual assistance among European Union member states is more cost-effective and flexible than a standing EU-wide civil protection force; and it allows member states to provide urgent assistance bilaterally or as part of regional groupings.
	My officials have been closely involved in discussions with their European counterparts and have kept me informed on developments. These issues have also been discussed at a ministerial level in the Justice and Home Affairs Council and the General Affairs and External Relations Council.

Employment

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of people aged  (a) over 50 and  (b) 16 to 24 years were employed in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of people aged (a) over 50 and (b) 16 to 24 years were employed in the fourth quarter of 2008. (254049)
	The requested information will not be available until the publication of the February 2009 Labour Market Statistics First Release on 11 February.

Government Departments: Internet

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether each internet service provider supplying internet connectivity services to central Government deploys the blocking list of known child pornography web sites provided by the Internet Watch Foundation.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office Corporate IT System accesses the Internet via the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) services as provided by Cable and Wireless.
	In order to enforce the Cabinet Office HR 'Appropriate Usage Policy' for our IT systems we additionally use the website blocking system Websense Web Filter. Websense Inc. is an associate member of the Internet Web Foundation (IWF). The Websense Web Filter provides a list of categories to be blocked and URLs of sites within the category are updated on a daily basis.
	Each Government Department is responsible for setting, implementing and maintaining its own controls. The Cabinet Office does not keep information centrally about the controls applied in other Departments.

Public Appointments: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will include in the list of posts deemed suitable for pre-appointment scrutiny all  (a) public sector regulators,  (b) permanent secretaries of Government Departments,  (c) heads of the judiciary and  (d) heads of the police and security services.

Kevin Brennan: The list of posts suitable for pre-appointment hearings was agreed with the Liaison Committee and published on 2 June 2008 in Pre-appointment hearings by select committees: Government Response to the Committee's First Report of Session 2007-08 (HC594). There are no plans to amend the list.

Public Service Forum

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the Public Service Forum.

Tom Watson: A note of each future Public Services Forum meeting will be placed in the Library of the House and published on the internet.

Unemployment: Young People

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people aged 16 to 24 years in each region  (a) in total and  (b) per 100,000 population were unemployed in (i) last quarter for which figures are available and (ii) the same quarter of the previous year, in rank order from highest to lowest.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many people aged 16 to 24 years in each region (a) in total and (b) per 100,000 population were unemployed in (i) last quarter for which figures are available and (ii) the same quarter of the previous year, in rank order from highest to lowest. 254173
	The requested information is shown in the attached table. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The figures in the table are derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently the estimates from Q3 2006 are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Unemployed people aged 16-24, by region, three month period ending September, 2007 and 2008, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			Thousand 
			  Region  2008( 1)  2007 
			 North West **120 106 
			 London **116 104 
			 South East **96 98 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside **95 68 
			 West Midlands **82 85 
			 East Midlands ***69 66 
			 Eastern ***63 72 
			 Scotland ***55 60 
			 South West ***52 53 
			 North East ***50 40 
			 Wales ***49 38 
			 Northern Ireland ****  
			 Total *864 806 
			  Source: Labour Force Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Unemployed people per 100,000 population aged 16-24, by region, three month period ending September, 2007 and 2008, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			  Region  2008  2007 
			 North East 15 12 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 14 10 
			 North West 14 12 
			 Wales 13 11 
			 East Midlands 13 12 
			 London 13 12 
			 West Midlands 13 13 
			 South East 10 11 
			 Eastern 10 12 
			 Scotland 9 10 
			 South West 9 9 
			 Northern Ireland   
			 Total 12 11 
			 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical robustness  * 0 = CV 5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes and have not been provided It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.)  Source: Labour Force Survey

V: Finance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much funding has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent through the v project in the last three years.

Kevin Brennan: v spent 25.643 million in 2006-07 and 47.175 million in 2007-08. v spent all funding allocated over these two financial years. Information for 2008-09 is not yet available. Information is taken from Cabinet Office Annual Report 2007-08 which has been placed in the Library of the House.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

EU Posted Workers Directive

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the provisions of the EU Posted Workers Directive relating to wage rates for posted workers.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave some moments ago to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North-West (John Robertson).

Regional Development Agencies: Business Support

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps regional development agencies are taking to support small and medium-sized businesses during the economic downturn; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: RDAs are offering SMEs real help through the Business Link network, including access to the Solutions for Business portfolio of business support. In addition, outside London, RDAs are already providing or are in the process of setting up transition loan funds for viable small and medium-sized businesses facing finance difficulties. 25 million will be available through these funds to businesses suffering short-term funding problems owing to the global downturn.

Recession: North-east

Alan Beith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the likely effect of recession on businesses in the North East.

Patrick McFadden: I receive a monthly report on the strengths and emerging issues facing the economy in the region from the regional development agency, One North East. Additionally, the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown), in his role as Minister for the North East, regularly addresses the likely impact of the recession on businesses in that region through regular engagement with the Northern Business Forum. The Government and their agencies will continue to do all it can to help North East businesses survive and thrive.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the conditions under which small and medium-sized enterprises are conducting business.

Ian Pearson: BERR makes regular assessments of the conditions under which small and medium-sized enterprises are conducting business.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding his Department is providing for small and medium-sized enterprises in 2008-09.

Ian Pearson: The regional development agencies are offering SMEs real help through the Business Link network, including access to the Solutions for Business portfolio of business support. In addition, outside London, RDAs are providing transition loan funds for viable small and medium-sized businesses facing finance difficulties. More information on Government support is available at
	www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp

Small Businesses: Credit

Alistair Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received from small businesses on their access to credit.

Ian Pearson: My noble Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Ministers and officials are in regular contact with small business representative organisations and with small businesses themselves on many issues, including access to credit.

Small Businesses: Credit

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to assist small businesses in obtaining credit.

Ian Pearson: The Government recognise that the unprecedented combination of credit crunch and global economic downturn means that economically viable businesses may be struggling to receive funding for working capital, trade finance and investment. Against these continuing global economic challenges and uncertainties our priorities have been to stabilise the banking system, to stimulate the economy, and to ensure we get lending going again.
	Alongside these measures my RHF the Chancellor has announced a package of measures designed to assist businesses obtain credit including:
	10 billion working capital scheme, securing up to 20 billion of short-term bank lending to companies seeking loans of 1,000 to 1 million with a turnover of up to 500 million.
	A 1 billion enterprise finance guarantee scheme (EFG), securing up to 1.3 billion of additional bank loans to small firms with a turnover of up to 25 million.
	A 75 million capital for enterprise fund (CEF) (50 million from Government augmented by 25 million from the banks) to invest in small businesses with viable business models that have exhausted traditional forms of finance.
	BERR continue to work very closely with the main lendersthrough the Small Business Finance Forumto ensure that viable businesses are given access to the credit they need. I would like to draw the House's attention to a commitment by RBS today to ensure that their branches are lending to small businesses.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Brian Binley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received from small businesses on Government assistance to them.

Ian Pearson: My noble Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Ministers and officials are in regular contact with small businesses and their representatives on many issues, including Government support programmes.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Tony Baldry: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the level of take-up by businesses of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee has been since its introduction.

Ian Pearson: The Enterprise Finance Guarantee was launched on 14 January and we will report on its progress shortly.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Desmond Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the criteria are for businesses to qualify for help under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.

Patrick McFadden: The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) is intended to facilitate bank loans of between 1,000 and 1 million.
	EFG is available to SMEs in the UK with an annual turnover of up to 25 million. Each lender is able to advise whether or not a specific business would be affected by these restrictions. The Government bear 75 per cent. of the risk of default, but the decisions on individual applications under the scheme are taken by the banks involved.
	An interactive tool is available on the Real Help with Finance pages on the Business Link website at:
	www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp/finance
	for businesses to assess their suitability for EFG. However, lending under EFG is at the discretion of the lender.

National Minimum Wage

Tom Levitt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the range of penalties for non-compliance with national minimum wage regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government are committed to simple, effective NMW enforcement and HMRC follow-up all complaints of underpayment.
	The Employment Act 2008 strengthens the NMW enforcement regime. From 6 April 2009 there will be automatic penalties of up to 5,000 for employers who do not comply and a fairer method of calculating arrears. This will help to ensure that vulnerable workers are paid the minimum wage.

Small Suppliers

Robert Wilson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to ensure that small suppliers are paid promptly by the Government and businesses.

Philip Dunne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to ensure small suppliers are paid promptly by the Government and businesses.

Ian Pearson: All central Government Departments are committed to pay within 10 days, ensuring over 66 billion of payments reach business quicker than ever.

Regional Development Agencies: Business Support

Mark Todd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps regional development agencies are taking to support small and medium-sized businesses during the economic downturn; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: RDAs are offering SMEs real help through the Business Link network, including access to the 'Solutions for Business' portfolio of business support. In addition, outside London, RDAs are already providing or are in the process of setting up transition loan funds for viable small and medium-sized businesses facing finance difficulties. 25 million will be available through these funds to businesses suffering short-term funding problems owing to the global downturn.

Broadband

Michael Penning: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of households that do not have access to broadband internet in  (a) Hemel Hempstead,  (b) Hertfordshire and  (c) England.

Patrick McFadden: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Broadband

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received on the creation of a universal service obligation in respect of broadband internet provision.

Patrick McFadden: Since the announcement of the Digital Broadband Report on 17 October, this Department has received representations on universal service obligation in the form of correspondence from a Member of Parliament, a member of the Scottish Parliament and industry as well as a parliamentary question. The Digital Britain interim report will look at the case for a universal service commitment on broadband.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of households that do not have access to broadband in  (a) Devon,  (b) East Devon constituency and  (c) Exmouth.

Patrick McFadden: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Business for New Europe

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with Business for New Europe on his Department's policies for business in Europe since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has had two meetings with members of Business for New Europe since his appointment. He attended a breakfast meeting with BNE members on 10 December 2008 and again on 17 December 2008 to discuss the current economic situation, internationally and domestically.

Departmental Buildings

Lee Scott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much has been spent on  (a) maintaining,  (b) decorating and  (c) otherwise improving departmental buildings in each year since the Department's inception; how much has been spent on wallpaper in that time; and what plans there are for further spending on departmental decoration.

Patrick McFadden: The following figures relate to spend on the BERR HQ estate since its inception on 28 June 2007 and is broken down into the categories required:
	(a) 2,100,000;
	(b) 36,460;
	(c) 6,871,000.
	BERR does not use wallpaper on its estate. Further spending on departmental decoration is dependent on its lease obligations.
	Office refurbishment costs have been included under  (c). These projects will have included an element of redecoration and to split these costs out would involve disproportionate cost. Also included in  (c) are the costs associated with a large number of projects, e.g. improvements to the heating and ventilation system in BERR's HQ building at 1 Victoria Street (including the conference centre and works to the lifts across the estate to bring them up to DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliance.

Departmental Marketing

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 894W, on departmental marketing, what expenditure on promotional products by the Insolvency Service has been since February 2008; and what branding appeared on each of the Insolvency Service branded  (a) pens,  (b) clocks,  (c) mugs and  (d) USB memory sticks procured in this period.

Patrick McFadden: The Insolvency Service has spent approximately 8,000 on departmental promotional products since February 2008.
	The Insolvency Service has produced pens and mugs with the Insolvency Service logo. No clocks or USB sticks have been procured during this period.

Departmental Marketing

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 894W, on departmental marketing, what branding or logos were published on each of the branded Insolvency Service  (a) pens,  (b) clocks,  (c) mugs and  (d) USB memory sticks.

Patrick McFadden: The Insolvency Service has produced pens and mugs with the agency's logo and the strapline working well together and your views matter.
	No clocks or memory sticks were purchased during this period.

Departmental Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours, in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the policy of his Department and its agencies is on granting staff time off in lieu for working  (a) in lunch breaks,  (b) in evenings and  (c) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Department does not keep a central record of how many days off in lieu were granted to staff. The matter of granting time off in lieu is dealt with locally by line managers in accordance with departmental policies.
	The Department has a flexible working policy which allows staff to work flexibly and organise their time around their contracted hours. The ways staff can work flexibly includes flexi-time, part-time, compressed hours, annualised hours and homeworking.
	Complying with the Working Time Directive, staff are encouraged to take regular breaks including a minimum lunch break each day of half an hour. Staff who accrue flexi-time can take time off in lieu.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies House and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 5 February 2009:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question, reference 252045, to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Companies House operates a Flexible Working Hours Scheme. Under the terms of that scheme staff who work lunch times, evenings or at other times build up flexi credits for the additional time they have worked. They then take that time as flexi leave. They have a responsibility to manage their time and can carry over 14 hours 48 minutes credit or debit from one flexi period to the next.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 5 February 2009:
	The Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to your question (2008/742), how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times, in the last year for which figures are available.
	The Insolvency Service is unable to supply you with data for the questions raised. The data required is held by local line-managers from different sources and in varied locations. To gather this information would entail disproportionate cost.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 5 February 2009:
	The Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2008/743) asking what the policy of his Department and its agencies is on granting staff time off in lieu for working (a) in lunch breaks, (b) in evenings and (c) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement.
	I would like to answer the three parts of your question in relation to the Insolvency Service:
	A) Staff are permitted to take time off in lieu when they are required for operational reasons to work through all or part of their meal break.
	B) Staff attending approved evening or part day/evening courses of study may be allowed time off in lieu during the day, up to the equivalent time spent at classes, plus travelling time.
	C) Time off in lieu may be allowed for necessary attendance at approved training activities on a Saturday, Sunday, public, Bank or privilege holiday or other recognised non-working day within the limits of conditioned hours.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 5 February 2009:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question, reference 252046, to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	As Companies House operates a Flexible Working Hours scheme, we have not granted any days off in lieu for staff working in lunch breaks or at other times.

Economic and Monetary Union

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the Answer of 17 July 2008,  Official Report, column 694W, on Economic and Monetary Union, whether his Department's updating of its euro changeover plan has been completed; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent version.

Patrick McFadden: BERR's euro transition plan is being updated to reflect recent machinery of Government changes. When completed, we will place a copy in the Library.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

David Chaytor: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions his Department has had with other Government departments on its review of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations.

Ian Pearson: The Department has had extensive discussions on the review of the waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and devolved Administrations.

Housing: Low Incomes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 30 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1271W, on housing: low incomes, which programmes  (a) will not be proceeded with and  (b) will receive reduced funding following the redirection of 300 million from the regional development agency budgets.

Patrick McFadden: The RDAs are working closely with Government to respond to the current economic challenges. Tough decisions had to be taken over the 300 million budget changes. The Government have also asked RDAs to refocus their budgets to concentrate on support for businesses in their regions. In reshaping its corporate plan for the period ahead, each RDA will be assessing with key partners and regional stakeholders, in the light of their regional economic strategy, how the cuts will impact and how best they can be mitigated and how best to maintain key priorities.

Members: Correspondence

Christopher Chope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Secretary of State plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Christchurch of 10 December 2008 on the loss of overseas business from a firm in his constituency.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 29 January 2009
	Officials are consulting with colleagues in the Home Office on this matter. I will respond to the hon. Member shortly.

Redundancy

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many redundancies were notified to his Department and its predecessor in each  (a) month of the last five years for which information is available and  (b) year since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: I cannot give the right hon. Member details of the actual number of redundancies as there is no requirement for employers to provide that information. However, employers who propose to make 20 or more redundancies at one establishment are required to notify the Secretary of State of the proposal under provisions contained in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Information on those notifications is only held from January 2006. I have detailed as follows the number of notifications received for each month from January 2006 to December 2008. I should add that these are only proposed, not actual redundancies, therefore the number of actual redundancies that may have taken place would not be the same.
	
		
			   Number 
			  2006  
			 January 35,133 
			 February 32,038 
			 March 27,288 
			 April 21,635 
			 May 33,578 
			 June 23,950 
			 July 21,122 
			 August 27,971 
			 September 35,031 
			 October 26,247 
			 November 48,754 
			 December 19,248 
			 Total 351,995 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 32,325 
			 February 21,205 
			 March 67,232 
			 April 18,055 
			 May 20,688 
			 June 26,919 
			 July 23,985 
			 August 62,960 
			 September 40,068 
			 October 33,360 
			 November 17,034 
			 December 36,434 
			 Total 400,265 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 29,626 
			 February 19,875 
			 March 34,149 
			 April 30,222 
			 May 26,387 
			 June 18,720 
			 July 37,505 
			 August 18,177 
			 September 30,691 
			 October 42,829 
			 November 45,855 
			 December 69,660 
			 Total 403,696

Redundancy

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many notifications his Department and its predecessor received of businesses making 20 or more employees redundant in each month of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many have been received in each year since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: Employers who propose to make 20 or more redundancies at one establishment are required to notify the Secretary of State of the proposal under provisions contained in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Information on those notifications is only held from January 2006. I have detailed as follows the number of notifications received for each month from January 2006 to December 2008.
	
		
			   Number 
			  2006  
			 January 35,133 
			 February 32,038 
			 March 27,288 
			 April 21,635 
			 May 33,578 
			 June 23,950 
			 July 21,122 
			 August 27,971 
			 September 35,031 
			 October 26,247 
			 November 48,754 
			 December 19,248 
			 Total 351,995 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 32,325 
			 February 21,205 
			 March 67,232 
			 April 18,055 
			 May 20,688 
			 June 26,919 
			 July 23,985 
			 August 62,960 
			 September 40,068 
			 October 33,360 
			 November 17,034 
			 December 36,434 
			 Total 400,265 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 29,626 
			 February 19,875 
			 March 34,149 
			 April 30,222 
			 May 26,387 
			 June 18,720 
			 July 37,505 
			 August 18,177 
			 September 30,691 
			 October 42,829 
			 November 45,855 
			 December 69,660 
			 Total 403,696

Regional Development Agencies: Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 24 November 2008,  Official  Report, column 1114W, on the Regional Development Agency National Secretariat, on which external public affairs firms or consultants spending was incurred; and for what purposes each was engaged.

Patrick McFadden: The total expenditure of the National Secretariat on external public affairs firms or consultants amounts to a sum of 29,397. This was paid to Linstock Communications for an analysis of RDA national newspaper coverage during an 18 month period from 1 April 2006 to 1 October 2007.

Regional Development Agencies: Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much each regional development agency spent on external consultants in 2007-08.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1366W, which provides each regional development agency expenditure on external consultants in 2007-08.

Regional Development Agencies: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what allocations his Department has made to each regional development agency for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Patrick McFadden: The following table shows the indicative allocation of each RDA's grant in aid budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11. These figures incorporate the bringing forward of 100 million of capital expenditure from 2010-11 to 2009-10 that was announced in the pre-Budget report.
	
		
			   million 
			  RDA  2009-10  2010-11 
			 AWM 294 212 
			 EEDA 135 108 
			 EMDA 160 131 
			 LDA 375 326 
			 NWDA 397 305 
			 ONE 249 195 
			 SEEDA 165 133 
			 SWRDA 156 125 
			 YF 317 228

Regional Planning and Development: North West

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether discussions have taken place between the North Western Regional Development Agency and Lancaster City Council on the Central Park Scheme in the west end of Morecambe.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 12 January 2009
	The agency were approached by Lancaster city council and the Winning Back the West End Regeneration Team in early 2007, and entered into discussions which led to a round one funding bid (concept approval stage ) to the agency for the Central Park Scheme in August 2007.
	Further information provided when working up the detailed bid revealed that the costs of the project were increasing, which led the agency to conclude that it would not present value for money and could not generate significant economic impacts. I understand, however, that the agency would be happy to enter into further discussions with Lancaster city council and the Winning Back the West End Regeneration Team.

Retail Sector

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with the Competition Commission on its proposals to  (a) strengthen the code of practice in the grocery sector and  (b) set up an ombudsman.

Gareth Thomas: Ministers and BERR officials hold regular meetings with the Competition Commission (CC) as part of the process of policy development and delivery to discuss a range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. There have not been any recent meetings specifically held to discuss the CC's proposals to strengthen the code of practice in the grocery sector, or to set up an ombudsman.

Wind Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with power generation companies on the interference of wind power generators with television signal reception.

Patrick McFadden: Neither I, nor my right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for Energy and Climate Change and for Culture, Media and Sport, or our officials, have had any recent discussions with power generation companies on the interference of wind power generators with television signal reception.
	This is essentially a planning matter. Paragraph 64 of the Technical Annex to the Government's Policy Planning Statement (PPS) 22
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/147447.pdf
	states that
	provided careful attention is paid to siting, wind turbines should not cause any significant problems of electromagnetic interference i.e. adverse effects on communication systems which use electromagnetic waves as the transmission medium (e.g. television, radio or microwave links).
	However, it is a requirement of the consenting process for onshore wind farms that the developer addresses any issues relating to possible interference with television signal reception.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Almondbury High School

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent communication he has had with Almondbury High School in Huddersfield; and when he expects the school to receive its students' full key stage test results.

Jim Knight: QCA advises that Almondbury High School has experienced particular difficulties in receiving results during the 2008 test cycle, and they have been in contact with the school to resolve these issues. They advise that the school has now been made aware of all its results, including the outcome of its review applications. The Department has no record of any communication with Almondbury High School.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) England are planned to have energy efficiency improvements under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and what estimate he has made of the consequential (i) carbon dioxide emissions avoided and (ii) savings in energy bills;
	(2)  how many schools in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) England have had energy efficiency improvements under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and what estimate he has made of the consequential (i) carbon dioxide emissions avoided and (ii) savings in energy bills.

Jim Knight: The Department does not gather detailed information on individual measures that have been implemented to improve energy efficiency for schools within Building Schools for the Future (BSF).
	All schools within Building Schools for the Future (BSF) are expected to work with their Local Authority Partnership (LEP) to address their energy consumption. The effectiveness of each LEP is incentivised and monitored through a set of key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs include an assessment of energy efficiency in operation: comparing actual energy consumption per unit floor area with design estimates.
	In December 2007 we introduced a requirement for all new schools within BSF to reduce their carbon emissions by 60 per cent. relative to the energy efficiency standards in 2002 building regulations. The Department has provided additional funding for more than 200 schools in Building Schools for the Future and the Academies programme to fund the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures on school sites to enable this requirement to be met. We have developed a 'carbon calculator' to allow users to demonstrate how they would achieve the 60 per cent. reduction. The carbon calculator compares the likely effectiveness of various energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions, but is not intended to provide accurate forecasts of energy savings.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Cambridgeshire

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made on each project under the Building Schools for the Future programme affecting schools in North East Cambridgeshire constituency.

Jim Knight: Cambridgeshire county council has made good progress since starting its first Building Schools for the Future Project in February 2007. The local authority issued an OJEU notice to procure a local education partnership to develop four secondary schools, one special school, and a one pupil referral unit in the north east of the county on 1 July 2008. The two sample schools in the project are Thomas Clarkson community college in Wisbech and Neale Wade community college in March. The local education partnership is expected to be operational in 2010 with the first two schools being delivered in 2011 and 2012. The remaining four schools are expected to be delivered by 2014.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many childcare settings have ceased operating permanently in each quarter of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The available information is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of child care providers that have opened and closed( 1) , p osition as at each quarter ,  England 
			2003/04 
			Childminders  Full day care  Out of school day care( 2) 
			Number  Rate  Number  Rate  Number  Rate 
			 April to June Opened 4,300 6.3 500 5.2 500 6.0 
			  Closed 2,500 3.6 200 2.0 200 2.7 
			 
			 July to September Opened 4,000 5.7 700 7.1 800 9.7 
			  Closed 3,800 5.5 300 2.7 400 4.5 
			 
			 October to December Opened 4,000 5.7 500 4.9 500 6.0 
			  Closed 2,200 3.1 200 2.1 200 2.0 
			 
			 January to March Opened 4,000 5.5 800 7.4 600 6.4 
			  Closed 3,600 5.0 400 3.7 400 4.8 
			 
			 Total Opened 16,300 22.5 2,500 22.6 2,400 25.9 
			  Closed 12,100 16.7 1,100 9.7 1,200 13.0 
		
	
	
		
			200 4 /05 
			Childminders  Full day care  Out of school day care( 2) 
			Number  Rate  Number  Rate  Number  Rate 
			 April to June Opened 3,300 4.5 800 7.5 600 6.2 
			  Closed 3,000 4.1 300 2.9 400 4.3 
			 July to September Opened 3,600 5.0 900 7.5 900 10.1 
			  Closed 4,400 6.1 500 4.7 600 6.6 
			 
			 October to December Opened 3,000 4.1 600 4.7 500 5.6 
			  Closed 3,800 5.3 500 3.9 600 6.0 
			 
			 January to March Opened 3,200 4.6 600 4.8 600 6.0 
			  Closed 4,000 5.7 400 3.6 600 6.1 
			 
			 Total Opened 13,100 18.6 2,800 23.3 2,600 27.3 
			  Closed 15,300 21.8 1,800 14.5 2,200 22.6 
		
	
	
		
			2005/0 6 
			Childminders  Full day care  Out of school day care( 2) 
			Number  Rate  Number  Rate  Number  Rate 
			 April to June Opened 3,200 4.7 500 4.4 500 5.3 
			  Closed 2,500 3.6 300 1.7 300 2.5 
			 
			 July to September Opened 3,100 4.4 700 5.3 800 7.8 
			  Closed 3,000 3.8 400 3.6 500 5.2 
			 
			 October to December Opened 2,700 3.8 500 4.1 500 4.5 
			  Closed 2,300 3.2 300 2.3 300 3.3 
			 
			 January to March Opened 2,900 4.0 600 4.6 500 5.2 
			  Closed 2,800 3.8 300 2.6 400 3.7 
			 
			 Total Opened 11,900 16.6 2,300 17.3 2,300 21.6 
			  Closed 10,500 14.7 1,300 10.1 1,500 14.6 
		
	
	
		
			200 6 /0 7 
			Childminders  Full day care  Out of school day care( 2) 
			Number  Rate  Number  Rate  Number  Rate 
			 April to June Opened 2,700 3.8 500 3.9 500 4.5 
			  Closed 2,700 3.8 300 2.4 400 4.0 
			 
			 July to September Opened 3,100 4.3 700 5.1 700 6.5 
			  Closed 3,400 4.8 400 3.0 600 5.3 
			 
			 October to December Opened 3,000 4.2 500 4.0 500 4.6 
			  Closed 2,700 3.8 400 2.7 400 4.1 
			 January to March Opened 2,500 3.5 500 3.3 400 4.0 
			  Closed 4,100 5.7 400 3.0 600 5.2 
			 
			 Total Opened 11,200 16.1 2,200 15.9 2,100 19.7 
			  Closed 12,900 18.5 1,500 10.8 2,000 18.7 
		
	
	
		
			200 7 /0 8 
			Childminders  Full day care  Out of school day care( 2) 
			Number  Rate  Number  Rate  Number  Rate 
			 April to June Opened 2,400 3.4 400 3.3 500 4.6 
			  Closed 4,000 5.7 400 2.7 400 4.2 
			 
			 July to September Opened 2,700 4.0 600 4.5 700 6.1 
			  Closed 3,600 5.3 500 3.3 500 4.7 
			 
			 October to December Opened 2,100 3.1 500 3.7 400 4.1 
			  Closed 3,700 5.6 400 3.2 500 4.7 
			 
			 January to March Opened 2,200 3.3 600 3.9 400 4.2 
			  Closed 3,300 5.0 400 2.9 500 4.5 
			 
			 Total Opened 9,300 14.5 2,100 15.0 2,000 19.0 
			  Closed 14,600 22.6 1,700 11.8 1,900 18.1 
			 (1 )Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. (2 )Out of school day care figures may not include services in extended schools as OFSTED data only includes providers that have to register separately.  Source:  Ofsted

Children: Diabetes

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to encourage increased awareness of diabetes among teachers and head teachers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what support is made available for children  (a) up to the age of 11 and  (b) aged between 11 and 16 years who have been diagnosed with diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings, issued jointly by the Department and the Department of Health in 2005, specifically addresses what schools can do to support pupils with medical needs such as diabetes. It encourages schools and local authorities to develop policies on the management of pupil's medicines and on supporting pupils with medical needs, taking account of local resources and their various responsibilities. We also produced sister guidance in the same year, entitled Including me: managing complex health needs in schools and early years settings.
	Also, since September 2007 schools have a duty to promote the well-being of all pupils, including those with long term medical conditions. This duty defines well-being as the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, including being healthy and staying safe.
	In April 2007, the Department of Health published a report entitled Making Every Young Person with Diabetes Matter, and has convened a group to support the implementation of best practice as set out in the report. The Department for Children, Schools and Families is represented on that group, and also on the sub-group set up to look specifically at support in schools.

Children: Obesity

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress his Department has made towards its target to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) form the basis of the PSA indicator for child obesity. The most recent data may be an early indication that obesity prevalence rates in children are levelling out. The 2007 HSE data, which was published in December 2008, estimated that the prevalence of obesity among two to 10-year-olds was around 15 per cent. The exact rate has increased very slightly, to 15.4 per cent., from 15.2 per cent. in 2006. However, this change is not statistically significant and it follows a fall from 16.8 per cent. in 2005. These are encouraging figures but there is no room for complacency and we will continue to monitor closely the trends in England.
	The 2004 spending review public service agreement (PSA) target 4, to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010, has been superseded by a more ambitious target to reduce the proportion of overweight and obese children to 2000 levels by 2020 in the context of tackling obesity across the population. This target is one of the indicators that underpins the 2007 comprehensive spending review PSA to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Citizenship: Education

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers have taken up the citizenship continuing professional development programme; and how much has been spent by his Department on bursaries for such teachers.

Jim Knight: In 2007-08 103 teachers completed the citizenship continuing professional development programme. This is the latest information available. The amount spent on bursaries for such teachers is unknown.

Class Sizes: Lincolnshire

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in  (a) North East Lincolnshire and  (b) North Lincolnshire have class sizes of over 30 pupils.

Jim Knight: The requested information can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Schools in north east Lincolnshire and north Lincolnshire: classes with more than 30 pupils, January 2008 
			  School name  Number of one teacher classes of size 31 or more  Number of pupils in one teacher classes of size 31 or more 
			 Althorpe and Keadby Primary School 2 65 
			 Bottesford Junior School 3 97 
			 Brigg Primary School 4 126 
			 Burton-upon-Stather Primary School 1 39 
			 William Barcroft Junior School 5 166 
			 Elliston Infants' School 1 39 
			 Queen Mary Avenue Infant School 1 37 
			 Crowle Primary School 2 62 
			 Goxhill Primary School 1 37 
			 Kirton Lindsey Primary School 3 108 
			 Messingham Primary School 2 72 
			 New Waltham Primary School 3 99 
			 Scawby Primary School 1 31 
			 Brumby Junior School 3 99 
			 Frodingham Infant School 1 51 
			 South Ferriby Primary School 1 33 
			 The Leas Junior School 2 64 
			 Thrunscoe Junior School 1 31 
			 Leys Farm Junior School 1 31 
			 Berkeley Infant School 1 33 
			 Signhills Junior School 1 31 
			 Winterton Junior School 4 133 
			 Middlethorpe Primary School 1 38 
			 Holme Valley Primary School 2 74 
			 Coomb Briggs Primary School 1 31 
			 Broughton Junior School 2 63 
			 Weelsby Primary School 1 31 
			 Edward Heneage Primary School 2 63 
			 Springfield Primary School 2 76 
			 Western Primary School 1 35 
			 Crosby Primary School 5 173 
			 Wybers Wood Junior School 1 31 
			 Humberston Cloverfields Primary School 1 31 
			 Castledyke Primary School 4 135 
			 Bursar Primary School 1 31 
			 St Barnabas CofE Primary School, Barnetby 3 99 
			 Barton St Peter's CofE Primary School 2 72 
			 Belton All Saints CofE Primary School 2 65 
			 East Ravendale CofE Primary School 1 34 
			 The Humberston CofE Primary School 2 62 
			 Stanford Junior and Infant School 2 63 
			 Scunthorpe CofE Primary School 2 69 
			 Westwoodside CofE Primary School 2 63 
			 Winterton CofE Infant School 1 39 
			 St Mary's Catholic Primary School 1 32 
			 St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School 2 63 
			 Saint Augustine Webster Catholic Primary School 4 128 
			 Eastoft Church of England Primary School 1 35 
			 St Joseph's RC Primary School 2 65 
			 St Mary's Catholic Primary School 4 131 
			 Hereford Technology School 9 295 
			 Whitgift School 5 159 
			 Huntcliff School 3 96 
			 Brumby Engineering College 1 31 
			 FTC (Foxhills Technology College) 3 97 
			 Tollbar Business and Enterprise College 2 64 
			 North Axholme School 1 31 
			 South Axholme Community School 6 196 
			 The Lindsey School and Community Arts College 3 93 
			 Frederick Gough School - A Specialist Language College 7 222 
			 High Ridge School Specialist Sports College 2 63 
			 Winterton Comprehensive School with Specialist Status in Engineering 5 162 
			 Humberston Comprehensive School 4 131 
			 Baysgarth School 7 227 
			 Sir John Nelthorpe School - A Specialist Technology College for Science, Mathematics and Computing 3 94 
			 Matthew Humberstone Church of England School 3 94 
			 St Mary's Catholic School 1 32 
			 St Bede's Catholic School 1 31 
			 Old Clee Primary School 3 95 
			 Yarborough Primary School 1 31 
			 Parkwood Primary School 3 127 
			 Lisle Marsden CofE Aided Primary School 4 134 
			 Nunsthorpe Community School 3 95 
			 Melior Community College for Business, Enterprise and the Arts 2 64 
			 Oasis Academy Immingham 3 98 
			 Oasis Academy Wintringham 11 355 
			 Havelock Academy 3 95 
			  Notes: 1. One teacher classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. 2. Includes middle schools as deemed. 3. Includes Academies and CTCs. 4. Includes Reception classes. 5. Classes of 31 or more, excluding those large classes where there are pupils who have been admitted as exceptions or those classes engaged in an excepted activity.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 10W, on education maintenance allowance, if he will publish the daily processing statistics on the education maintenance allowance which his Department has received from the Learning and Skills Council since September 2008.

Jim Knight: I have regularly written to update the Select Committee on the delivery of the education maintenance allowance (EMA). Those updates have been copied to the hon. Member and copies placed in the Libraries. In the most recent update, dated 28 January, I reported that as of 23 January over 520,000 young people had received EMA payments in this academic year. This is over 1,000 more than at this time last year.
	As I also reported in my letter of 28 January, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Capita are confident that they have accurate data on the numbers of EMA learners enrolled and those in payment. However, they have advised that the data on the number of applicants may include double counting. The LSC has therefore commissioned Capita to carry out a data-matching exercise to eliminate duplicates.
	Given the possibility that the data on applicant numbers may be inaccurate, it would not be helpful or in the public interest to publish the daily statistical reports that the Department received from the LSC between September 2008 and January 2009. The key figure is the number receiving payment, which I have regularly provided.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications for education maintenance allowance were lost between 1 August 2008 and 31 December 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the both Libraries.

Education: Assessment

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department has commissioned to assess the extent of teaching to the test practices in schools.

Jim Knight: The Department has undertaken investigative research in a small number of primary schools to look at good practice in preparing pupils for key stage 2 national curriculum tests. The findings will be considered by the Expert Group on Assessment as part of their wider research into the future of testing. The group is due to report in March 2009.

Education: Assessment

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what mechanisms his Department uses to assess the relevance of qualifications offered in schools and colleges to the requirements of employers.

Jim Knight: Qualifications taken by young people must equip them with the right knowledge and skills for employment, and we already involve employers directly in the design and delivery of many 14-19 qualifications. The extent to which qualifications meet employers' requirements is considered as part of the accreditation process, and at the point of consideration for public funding.
	Employers are closely involved in the development of both Diplomas and Apprenticeships. Sector Skills Councils and individual employers play key roles in each of the Diploma Development Partnerships to ensure that the new qualifications respond to the needs of different sectors. Apprenticeship frameworks meet the needs of employers through Sector Skills Councils working with employers in their sector to assess the suitability of qualifications in designing a framework.
	This year the Department has made 500,000 available to Sector Skills Councils to assess sector skills needs in the 14-19 age range, and to incorporate those assessments into their Sector Qualifications Strategies. These Strategies will provide evidence for determining the types of 14-19 qualifications which are eligible for public funding.

Education: Assessment

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department has commissioned on pupils' and parents' views of testing in schools in the last two years.

Jim Knight: A number of recent surveys have found that most parents agree that national testing enables them to compare one school's performance against another, and that the performance of each school in tests and exams should be published and publicly available.
	We have recently announced significant changes to the testing and accountability regime, and established an expert group on assessment to make recommendations to the Secretary of State on a wide range of assessment issues. The group is seeking the views of a wide range of stakeholders, including parents, to inform its thinking.
	The independent evaluation of single level tests within the Making Good Progress pilot includes consideration of pupils' experience of testing. The interim report (Evaluation of the Making Good Progress, Research Report DCSF-RR065) sets out that the majority of interviewees who commented on pupils' test experiences, considered that pupils were generally not stressed by the tests involved, because they were pitched at the 'right' level.

Families at Risk Review

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the written ministerial statement of 10 January 2008,  Official Report, column 15WS, on the Families at Risk review, which recommendations from the report  (a) have and  (b) have not been implemented.

Beverley Hughes: The Government Departments responsible for implementing the Families at Risk Review's recommendations are the Department of Work and Pensions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, HM Treasury, the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Schools and Families. Reports on progress will be issued in due course.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Ethnic Groups

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what factors he has identified as the primary causes of the disparity between children from different ethnic groups in GCSE attainment.

Jim Knight: The analyses from the latest national statistics on survey responses to the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) and the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) released on 26 June 2008 exemplify the multi-faceted nature of the influences on GCSE attainment and outcomes. They show that personal characteristics including ethnicity, first language, socio-economic background, attitudes and behaviours all have strong relationships with attainment and participation outcomes. However it is noteworthy that GCSE attainment by black and other minority ethnic groups has improved over the last five years more rapidly than that of the whole cohort, so that most remaining gaps have narrowed.

Mathematics: GCE A Level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in  (a) all schools,  (b) independent schools and  (c) comprehensive schools achieved a grade C or higher in A level mathematics in 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: h olding  answer 26 January 2009
	In 2008, 17,643 pupils in comprehensive schools, 11,622 pupils in independent schools and 36,317 pupils in all schools achieved an A-C grade in GCE A level Mathematics. The all schools figure includes pupils in selective, modern and other maintained schools. Other maintained schools includes community and foundation special schools, hospital schools and pupil referral units.

National Curriculum Tests

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many complaints his Department received concerning the quality of marking of Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: Information on the volume of queries received from schools about the quality of marking of the National Curriculum tests, during the period 2004 to 2007 can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1 January 2008, the Department's Public Communications Unit has responded to 1,016 letters and e-mails about the quality of marking of the National Curriculum tests across both key stages 2 and 3.

National Curriculum Tests

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment was made of the previous record of ETS Global BV before granting it the key stage tests marking contract.

Jim Knight: Decisions relating to the national curriculum test operations contract are the responsibility of the qualifications and curriculum authority (QCA). The award of the contract to ETS was investigated by Lord Sutherland as part of his Inquiry into the 2008 test delivery difficulties. Lord Sutherland concluded that the procurement process was sound but that QCA should have undertaken more detailed referencing of contractors prior to awarding the contract to ETS. Lord Sutherland's report is available at:
	http://sutherlandinquiry.independent.gov.uk/index.shtml

Pre-School Education

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) private,  (b) voluntary and  (c) independent nurseries have (i) opened and (ii) closed permanently in each of the last four quarters.

Beverley Hughes: Information is not available in the form requested. The available information on the number and percentage of child care providers that have opened and closed in each of the last four quarters is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and percentage of child  care providers in England  that have opened and close( 1)  in each of the last four quarters 
			Full Day Care 
			  Position as at each quarter   Number  Rate  (percentage) 
			 JulySeptember 2007 Opened 600 4.5 
			  Closed 500 3.3 
			 OctoberDecember 2007 Opened 500 3.7 
			  Closed 400 3.2 
			 JanuaryMarch 2008 Opened 600 3.9 
			  Closed 400 2.9 
			 AprilJune 2008 Opened 500 3.6 
			  Closed 400 2.6 
			 (1 )Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. Note:  Due to changes in legislation as at 1 September 2008 new categories have been introduced for the collection of child care data and the current categories have ceased to exist. The latest Ofsted figures for a full quarter were published in June 2008.  Source: Ofsted

Pre-School Education

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  whether early years settings must have no exemptions from the Early Years Foundation Stage to receive funding for the free entitlement for nursery education; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the length of time it will take for early years settings to apply successfully for exemption from the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities are responsible for determining which providers in their area should be funded to deliver the free entitlement. Local authorities have discretion whether to fund providers where there is an exemption in place. An exemption will not automatically make providers ineligible for funding.
	It is estimated that most applications for exemptions will be dealt with within 12 weeks. There is no automatic right to an exemption and each application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The length of time to process an individual application will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the exemption sought. In cases where an application is declined, settings are free to submit a fresh application.

Pre-School Education

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effects of the extension in free entitlement to nursery care on the children who receive it.

Beverley Hughes: We are extending the free early education entitlement from 12.5 hours to 15 hours delivered more flexibly in all local authorities by September 2010.
	We are rolling out the extension in a staged approach. Twenty pathfinder local authorities have been delivering the extended flexible entitlement since April 2007, assessing the demand for different patterns of provision, and exploring ways of working that enable greater flexibility in a diverse childcare market. An additional 14 local authorities began delivery in September 2008. The extended offer will be available to the 25 per cent. most deprived children in every local authority from September 2009, and will be universal entitlement from September 2010.
	The Department has commissioned external research to evaluate the demand for and deliverability of the extended flexible entitlement in Pathfinder local authorities and its impact on parents. The research will be published in the spring.
	We already know from research that high quality early learning makes a real difference to children's development with lasting effects throughout primary school and that the free entitlement for three and four-year-olds allows parents to access child care as a route to work and training, lifting more children out of poverty.

Pre-School Education: Vacancies

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate his Department has made of the average number of vacant places in  (a) children's centres nurseries,  (b) maintained nurseries and  (c) private, voluntary and independent nurseries in (i) England, (ii) each region, (iii) the 10 per cent. most deprived local authority areas and (iv) the 10 per cent. least deprived local authority areas in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information vacant places for children at childcare and early years providers. Table 1 shows the average number of vacant places per setting in England, by type of provision. Data for previous years are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Average number of vacant places per setting 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Full day care 8 7 9 
			 Full day care in children's centres (1) 12 11 
			 Nursery schools (1) 5 3 
			 (1) Signifies cases where data are not available, either because the question was not asked, or the provider type was not surveyed in that year  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the average number of vacant places per setting in each region, by type of provision. Data for previous years are not available. Data for nursery schools is not available due to small sub-sample sizes for this provider type at the regional level.
	
		
			  Table 2: Average number of vacant places per setting, by region 
			   Full day care  Full day care in children's centres 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007 
			 East Midlands 10 11 13 10 
			 East of England 9 7 10 7 
			 London 7 10 8 9 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 8 9 16 13 
			 North West 7 8 10 10 
			 South East 6 9 13 12 
			 South West 6 7 10 9 
			 West Midlands 5 7 14 11 
			 (1). Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 3 shows the average number of vacant places per setting, by type of provision and level of deprivation. Data for previous years and data for the 10 per cent. most deprived and 10 per cent. least deprived areas are not available.
	
		
			   Full day care  Full day care in children's centres  Nursery schools 
			   30% most deprived areas  70% least deprived areas  30% most deprived areas  70% least deprived areas  30% most deprived areas  70% least deprived areas 
			 2006 8 7 12 11 3 7 
			 2007 10 8 11 9 3 3 
			  Table 3: Average number of vacant places per setting, by level of deprivation 
			  Note:  Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures.

Pupil Exclusions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were permanently excluded from schools in England in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2007-08.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: 8,680 children were permanently excluded from schools in England in 2006-07. This figure has been taken from the statistical first release Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2006/07Amended and covers all maintained schools in England. This publication can be found at the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000793/index.shtml.
	Figures are not yet available for 2007-08 and are due to be published in June 2009.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils on free school meals have been taught in schools with  (a) 1,500 or more and  (b) 2,000 or more pupils in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information, in the format requested, could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, we have provided a table to show how many pupils on free school meals have been taught in schools with  (a) 1,500 or more and  (b) 2,000 or more pupils in each of the last 10 years in England and a table to show how many pupils on free school meals have been taught in schools with  (a) 1,500 or more and  (b) 2,000 or more pupils for 2008 broken down by local authority.
	
		
			  State-funded secondary schools( 1) : free school meal arrangements by size of school( 2) , position as at January each year 1997 to 2008, England 
			   State-funded secondary schools 
			   Total number of schools  Number of schools with 1,500 to 1,999 pupils  Number of pupils taking free school meals in schools with 1,500 to 1,999 pupils  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in schools with 1,500 to 1,999 pupils  Number of schools with 2,000 and over pupils  Number of pupils taking free school meals in schools with 2,000 and over pupils  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in schools with 2,000 and over pupils 
			 1997 3,584 132 17,520 26,840 6 990 1,400 
			 1998 3,582 146 19,100 28,820 6 950 1,340 
			 1999 3,575 169 21,210 32,040 6 890 1,300 
			 2000 3,565 188 24,280 35,960 7 960 1,470 
			 2001 3,496 215 29,180 44,470 8 770 1,250 
			 2002 3,471 227 30,150 42,550 13 1,500 2,250 
			 2003 3,454 257 33,750 47,610 14 1,940 2,810 
			 2004 3,435 251 31,550 43,870 21 2,210 3,410 
			 2005 3,416 262 30,100 45,030 20 2,520 3,320 
			 2006 3,405 260 29,640 42,970 21 2,650 3,560 
			 2007 3,399 267 29,110 42,010 22 2,730 3,820 
			 2008 3,383 263 29,770 42,120 25 3,030 4,350 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed, city technology colleges and academies. (2) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  State-funded secondary schools( 1) : free school meal arrangements by size of school( 2) , position as at January 2008, local authority area 
			State-funded secondary schools 
			Total number of schools  Number of schools with 1,500 to 1,999 pupils  Number of pupils taking free school meals in schools with 1,500 to 1,999 pupils  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in schools with 1,500 to 1,999 pupils  Number of schools with 2,000 and over pupils  Number of pupils taking free school meals in schools with 2,000 and over pupils  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in schools with 2,000 and over pupils 
			   England 3,383 263 29,770 42,120 25 3,030 4,350 
			  
			   North East 207 11 1,110 1,560 1 260 380 
			 841 Darlington 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 840 Durham 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 390 Gateshead 11 1 66 130 0 0 0 
			 805 Hartlepool 6 1 114 153 0 0 0 
			 806 Middlesbrough 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 14 3 450 616 1 264 376 
			 392 North Tyneside 15 2 161 188 0 0 0 
			 929 Northumberland 58 1 90 128 0 0 0 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 11 1 101 162 0 0 0 
			 393 South Tyneside 9 1 66 89 0 0 0 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 394 Sunderland 17 1 57 89 0 0 0 
			  
			   North West 470 31 4,440 6,400 0 0 0 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 10 1 50 57 0 0 0 
			 890 Blackpool 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 350 Bolton 17 3 147 304 0 0 0 
			 351 Bury 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 875 Cheshire 42 6 343 518 0 0 0 
			 909 Cumbria 42 2 111 157 0 0 0 
			 876 Halton 8 1 112 196 0 0 0 
			 340 Knowsley 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 888 Lancashire 85 2 118 143 0 0 0 
			 341 Liverpool 31 3 982 1,421 0 0 0 
			 352 Manchester 24 3 1,344 1,880 0 0 0 
			 353 Oldham 15 1 95 105 0 0 0 
			 354 Rochdale 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 355 Salford 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 343 Sefton 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 342 St. Helens 10 2 286 481 0 0 0 
			 356 Stockport 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 357 Tameside 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 358 Trafford 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 877 Warrington 12 3 104 151 0 0 0 
			 359 Wigan 20 2 175 234 0 0 0 
			 344 Wirral 22 2 573 748 0 0 0 
			  
			   Yorkshire and the Humber 321 46 5,090 7,430 3 250 450 
			 370 Barnsley 14 1 68 100 0 0 0 
			 380 Bradford 29 6 1,193 1,546 0 0 0 
			 381 Calderdale 15 1 118 154 0 0 0 
			 371 Doncaster 17 2 258 411 1 112 250 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 18 5 305 477 0 0 0 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 14 1 166 206 0 0 0 
			 382 Kirklees 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 383 Leeds 39 8 973 1,574 0 0 0 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 12 0 0 0 1 59 80 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 815 North Yorkshire 47 6 198 288 0 0 0 
			 372 Rotherham 16 5 598 880 0 0 0 
			 373 Sheffield 27 5 523 725 0 0 0 
			 384 Wakefield 18 5 624 984 1 75 117 
			 816 York 10 1 69 85 0 0 0 
			  
			   East Midlands 305 22 1,790 2,710 4 360 450 
			 831 Derby 14 2 133 153 0 0 0 
			 830 Derbyshire 47 5 353 544 1 44 57 
			 856 Leicester 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 855 Leicestershire 54 4 132 222 2 71 115 
			 925 Lincolnshire 63 2 55 65 0 0 0 
			 928 Northamptonshire 41 2 104 130 0 0 0 
			 892 Nottingham 18 2 495 897 0 0 0 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 47 5 513 695 1 248 279 
			 857 Rutland 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			   West Midlands 402 15 2,220 2,730 1 240 400 
			 330 Birmingham 75 2 496 592 1 242 404 
			 331 Coventry 19 1 89 89 0 0 0 
			 332 Dudley 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 884 Herefordshire 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 333 Sandwell 18 3 509 681 0 0 0 
			 893 Shropshire 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 334 Solihull 14 1 338 338 0 0 0 
			 860 Staffordshire 68 2 246 321 0 0 0 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 335 Walsall 19 1 215 282 0 0 0 
			 937 Warwickshire 36 4 224 323 0 0 0 
			 336 Wolverhampton 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 885 Worcestershire 46 1 102 103 0 0 0 
			  
			   East of England 423 35 3,160 4,410 1 420 420 
			 820 Bedfordshire 56 2 84 98 0 0 0 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 30 5 375 492 0 0 0 
			 881 Essex 80 13 1,157 1,567 0 0 0 
			 919 Hertfordshire 82 1 68 79 0 0 0 
			 821 Luton 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 926 Norfolk 52 5 455 588 0 0 0 
			 874 Peterborough 11 3 627 723 1 415 415 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 12 2 191 522 0 0 0 
			 935 Suffolk 78 4 199 338 0 0 0 
			 883 Thurrock 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			   London 426 36 7,140 10,380 3 460 650 
			   Inner London 147 5 1,340 2,060 0 0 0 
			 202 Camden 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 201 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 204 Hackney 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 309 Haringey 12 1 110 115 0 0 0 
			 206 Islington 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 208 Lambeth 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 209 Lewisham 14 1 375 476 0 0 0 
			 316 Newham 15 1 433 998 0 0 0 
			 210 Southwark 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 212 Wandsworth 11 2 426 475 0 0 0 
			 213 Westminster 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			   Outer London 279 31 5,790 8,310 3 460 650 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 9 4 1,113 1,926 0 0 0 
			 302 Barnet 20 1 82 126 0 0 0 
			 303 Bexley 17 3 596 751 2 326 512 
			 304 Brent 14 3 741 1,199 0 0 0 
			 305 Bromley 17 5 339 417 0 0 0 
			 306 Croydon 23 1 55 55 0 0 0 
			 307 Ealing 13 3 753 891 0 0 0 
			 308 Enfield 18 2 344 460 0 0 0 
			 203 Greenwich 14 3 957 1,250 0 0 0 
			 310 Harrow 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 311 Havering 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 312 Hillingdon 18 0 0 0 1 130 141 
			 313 Hounslow 14 1 166 277 0 0 0 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 315 Merton 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 317 Redbridge 17 4 587 887 0 0 0 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 319 Sutton 14 1 60 74 0 0 0 
			 320 Waltham Forest 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			   South East 504 39 2,810 3,780 9 780 1,080 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 9 3 482 654 1 146 194 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 34 1 87 87 0 0 0 
			 845 East Sussex 27 3 283 311 0 0 0 
			 850 Hampshire 71 6 334 451 1 68 87 
			 921 Isle of Wight 21 1 130 209 0 0 0 
			 886 Kent 104 3 276 373 1 78 140 
			 887 Medway 19 2 169 269 0 0 0 
			 826 Milton Keynes 12 1 138 138 2 300 410 
			 931 Oxfordshire 34 2 156 230 1 39 57 
			 851 Portsmouth 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 870 Reading 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 871 Slough 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 852 Southampton 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 936 Surrey 53 8 276 374 2 103 135 
			 869 West Berkshire 10 3 171 262 0 0 0 
			 938 West Sussex 40 4 229 310 1 42 60 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 13 1 48 58 0 0 0 
			 872 Wokingham 9 1 27 53 0 0 0 
			  
			   South West 325 28 2,030 2,740 3 270 520 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 837 Bournemouth 10 1 50 77 0 0 0 
			 801 Bristol, City of 19 1 49 84 0 0 0 
			 908 Cornwall 31 2 189 238 0 0 0 
			 878 Devon 37 5 453 682 2 214 447 
			 835 Dorset 34 2 160 198 1 55 72 
			 916 Gloucestershire 42 4 271 332 0 0 0 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 802 North Somerset 10 3 199 251 0 0 0 
			 879 Plymouth 17 1 66 85 0 0 0 
			 836 Poole 9 2 91 113 0 0 0 
			 933 Somerset 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 16 3 157 195 0 0 0 
			 866 Swindon 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 880 Torbay 8 1 205 288 0 0 0 
			 865 Wiltshire 29 3 137 199 0 0 0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed, city technology colleges and academies. (2) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he plans to raise the education and training leaving age to  (a) 17 and  (b) 18 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Our intention is that from 2013 all young people will participate in some form of education or training post-16. We plan to raise the participation age in two stages: to 17 in 2013 and to 18 in 2015. The first cohort to benefit from these changes began year 7 in September 2008.

Schools: ICT

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what powers Partnership for Schools has to prevent individual schools opting out of proposals for authority-wide ICT programmes in favour of submitting an Alternative Business Procurement Case.

Jim Knight: Partnerships for Schools does not have powers to prevent a school opting out of proposals for authority-wide ICT programmes. Where a school wishes to opt out of the managed service it must submit an Alternative Business Procurement Case. This must demonstrate that the school's alternative provision will be at least of an equivalent standard to the managed service proposed by the local authority, that it is able to link up to the area-wide solution, and that it passes a value for money test to ensure taxpayers' money is being well spent.

Schools: Music

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  with reference to his Department's press release of 21 November 2008, on funding for music in schools, how many new musical instruments have been bought with the funds announced;
	(2)  how much of the planned 40 million expenditure over four years on new musical instruments announced by his Department on 21 November 2007 has been spent.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Music Instrument Fund (MIF) was introduced in 2007-08 and provides 10 million a year (capital grant) for LAs to purchase instruments for instrumental learning at key stage 2 or transitional programmes beyond key stage 2. In November 2007 it was announced that the 10 million grant would continue to 2011, hence the 40 million.
	In 2007-08 local authorities claimed 9.97 million and 99,892 instruments were purchased. In 2008-09, 8.25million of the total allocation has already been claimed by local authorities and over 94,000 instruments purchased.

Schools: Parents

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of levels of accountability of schools to  (a) parents and  (b) students since 1997.

Jim Knight: Schools are accountable to the taxpayer, to parents and to pupils both for their overall performance and for the outcomes of individual pupils.
	The introduction of the New Relationship with Schools (NRwS) in 2004 brought about major changes to the school accountability framework, in order to make it more coherent and evidence-based. All schools now have a school improvement partner to help evaluate the school's performance and identify priorities for improvement, and there is a greater emphasis on school self-evaluation and building schools' capacity to drive their own improvement. The School Profile was also introduced to communicate with parents about each school's progress, priorities and performance. Building on the NRwS, we now plan to make the accountability system even more coherent and better able to recognise the full range of each school's achievements.
	For example, school performance data are currently available to the public through the Achievement and Attainment Tables. However, we think there is scope for a wider range of information on schools' performance to be reported in a clearer and more powerful way, so it can be more easily used by governors, parents and the public. In December, we launched a consultation on 21st Century Schools and the school report card. The school report card will set out a range of outcomes for which schools will be held to account and provide an indication of the degree of challenge faced by each school. The consultation will be followed by a White Paper in the spring and further consultation on the detail of the school report card indicators.
	Parents and pupils also need to be able to hold schools to account for the outcomes they deliver for individual children. Schools must report individual children's performance to parents and pupils at the end of the year, and many schools are now reporting pupils' progress to parents on a more regular basis. We are supporting the development of teachers' skills in pupil tracking through the Assessment for Learning Strategy, launched in May 2008 and underpinned by 150 million. We also expect that by 2010, all secondary schools will report online to parents on pupils' attendance, behaviour, special educational needs and achievement, and that all primary and special schools will do so by 2012.
	All schools are also required to have home school agreements, containing commitments made by the school and parents to support children's education and well-being. In the children's plan one year on progress report, we outlined a new approach to improving parents' engagement and committed to review school reporting regulations and home school agreements and will shortly be consulting publicly on possible changes.
	The inspection system gathers pupils' and parents' views about individual schools and assesses the extent to which parents are involved in their children's learning and development. In April 2007 new powers were introduced to enable Ofsted to investigate complaints from parents about their children's schools. These allow parents to raise concerns about systemic matters relating to a school which Ofsted can investigate. If the matter is of serious concern, this can lead to the immediate inspection of a school.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the potential effects on standards of attainment in maintained schools of the implementation by independent schools of Charity Commission guidance on bursary schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has made no assessment of the potential effects on standards of attainment in maintained schools of the implementation by independent schools of Charity Commission guidance on bursary schemes. It is for each independent school that has charitable status to decide for itself how to meet the public benefit requirement, having regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission.

Secondary Education: Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his policy is on the provision of funding for children in their final year of secondary school who have repeated a year.

Jim Knight: Local authorities receive revenue funding according to the number of pupils they have on roll at the spring school censusthis would include those pupils that are repeating a year. Local authorities will apply their local funding formulae to fund schools in their area which takes account of all the children attending school.

Secondary Education: Vocational Guidance

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in secondary schools are employed to act as careers advisers in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Jim Knight: Responsibility for curriculum organisation and staffing is delegated to local authorities and schools. We do not keep records centrally on the number of teaching staff involved in providing careers advice in secondary schools.

Social Services: Children

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received on the reorganisation of children's services in local authorities.

Beverley Hughes: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has received a large number of representations following the case of 'Baby P' in Haringey. Many of the correspondents have been supportive of the current requirement to have integrated services for children under a single Director of Children's Services and some have suggested these arrangements should be reconsidered.
	We are currently consulting on revised statutory guidance on the role of the Director of Children's Services and Lead Member for Children's Services. The consultation ends on 10 February 2009 and to date we have received three responses suggesting the current requirements for an integrated service should be reconsidered.

Social Services: Haringey

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what inspections of Haringey council Ofsted has undertaken since 2000.

Beverley Hughes: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in both the Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 22 January 2008
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Ofsted inspected Local Education Authorities in conjunction with the Audit Commission from 1997 to 2005, under section 38 of the Education Act 1997. Ofsted inspected Haringey Local Education Authority in 2002 and again in 2003. These inspections are shown in Table A.
	That inspection regime was replaced in September 2005 by the current cycle of Joint Area Reviews. Prior to 2005, all inspections of local authorities' children's services in relation to children's social care were undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and these inspections are, therefore, not included in this response.
	Ofsted is responsible, with other inspectorates, for inspecting children's services provided in a local area. As such, we have carried out annual performance assessments (APA) under section 138 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and a rolling programme of joint area reviews (JARs) in each of the 150 local authority areas of England under section 20 of the Children Act 2004. The full list of JARs and APAs carried out in Haringey is shown in Table B.
	In April 2007, Ofsted took over responsibility for regulation and inspection of children's social care from CSCI. A list of the inspections carried out of Haringey Council social care services is shown in Table C. Please note that this includes only those inspections of services provided directly by Haringey Council and does not include all social care services in Haringey. CSCI reports from prior to April 2007 are not included in this response.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to right hon. Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	
		
			  Table A: Local education authority inspections carried out in Haringey since 2000 
			  Type  Date  Publication date 
			 Local education authority inspection 2002 26 September 2002 
			 Local education authority inspection 2003 20 January 2004 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Annual performance assessments (APA) and joint area reviews (JARs) carried out on Haringey since 2005 
			  Type  Date  Report/Letter published  Notes 
			 APA June 2005 to July 2005 1 December 2005  
			 APA June 2006 to July 2006 n/a APAs were carried out in 2005 and 2007. In 2006 Haringey had a JAR, so no APA was carried out. The JAR grades were carried forward for the purposes of the APA. 
			 APA September 2007 to October 2007 26 November 2007  
			 APA September 2008 to October 2008 17 December 2008  
			 JAR 12 June 2006 to 23 June 2006 10 October 2006 JAR was carried out concurrently with the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment. It was also enhanced to enable coverage of the youth service (report published 16/10/2006). 
			 JAR 13 November 2008 to 26 November 2008 1 December 2008 This JAR was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, to look specifically at Safeguarding Children. It was jointly carried out with the Healthcare Commission and Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: List of Ofsted's last inspections on children's care in Haringey 
			  Reference  n umber  Setting  n ame  Provision  t ype  Inspection  d ate 
			 SC042906 London Borough of Haringey Fostering Service Local Authority Fostering Agency 25 January 2008 
			 SC072906 London Borough of Haringey Private Fostering Arrangements Service Private Fostering Arrangements 30 January 2008

Social Services: Haringey

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 936W, on Social Services: Haringey, if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of each Ofsted inspection of Haringey council's children's social services since 2000.

Beverley Hughes: Copies of Ofsted's inspection reports and assessments of Haringey's children's social services are available on Ofsted's website. The following links are provided at:
	 Joint Area Reviews
	10 October 2006
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/1446/(as)/JAR/jar_2006_309_fr.pdf
	1 December 2008
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/4657/(as)/JAR/jar_2008_309_fr.pdf
	 Annual Performance Assessments
	1 December 2005
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/258/(as)/APA/apa_2005_309.pdf
	26 November 2007
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/3060/(as)/APA/apa_2007_309.pdf
	17 December 2008
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/4687/(as)/APA/apa_2008_309.pdf
	 Fostering services
	25 January 2008
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/5041/(as)/SC/SC_SC042906_20032008.pdf
	30 January 2008
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/6180/(as)/SC/SC_SC072906_08032008.pdf
	Copies have also been placed in the Library.

Specialist Schools

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department plans to review its policy on specialist schools.

Jim Knight: The Department publishes guidance on the specialist schools programme annually setting out the objectives of the programme and the procedures relating to the designation and redesignation of specialist schools. We expect to publish the 2009 guidance in the summer.

Specialist Schools

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many specialist schools there are in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Jim Knight: There are 2,993 specialist schools in England, of which 170 are in the North East and five are in Middlesbrough and South East Cleveland constituency. These are Freebrough Specialist Engineering College (Engineering), Huntcliff School (Humanities), Laurence Jackson (Sports), Newlands Catholic School (Maths and Computing) and Kilton Thorpe Special School (Arts).

Teachers: Stress

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to reduce stress on teachers.

Jim Knight: The Department recognises that there are a variety of factors that contribute to teachers' stress. Accordingly we have put in place a range of measures to address the causes.
	Through our ongoing work with social partners, we are undertaking a significant programme of work force reform to help address those causes associated with work load. The National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload, which was signed in January 2003, led to guaranteed time for planning, preparation and assessment, limits on the amount of cover teachers could do, and a transfer of admin tasks to support staff, all of which help address the issue of workload. There have also been increases in the number of teachers and support staff working in schools. Since 1997, the number of support staff has more than doubled and teacher numbers have risen by over 40,000.
	Encouraging better pupil behaviour and attendance also has a direct impact on reducing teacher stress. That is why we are investing in a comprehensive national programme to strengthen schools' capacity to manage pupil behaviour.
	In addition we have encouraged better management of teacher health matters through improved occupational health guidance for schools and local authorities, and we are working with employers to encourage early intervention to avoid ill health retirements. We have recently reinforced those moves through the release of guidance on common mental health problems which give practical advice on positive action to support teachers through the stresses and strains that can arise through life and work.

Young, Gifted and Talented Programme

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1126W, on Young, Gifted and Talented Programme, what percentage of pupils aged between  (a) four and 10 and  (b) 11 and 18 are participating in the Young, Gifted and Talented Programme in each local authority.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Reliable data cannot be provided because, as indicated in the reply of 18 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1126W, the relevant local authority can be confirmed only for less than one-third of pupils registered with the Young Gifted and Talented (YG and T) Learner Academy.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what subsequent support is available to people who successfully complete NHS alcoholic treatment courses;
	(2)  how many people  (a) have and  (b) have not successfully completed NHS alcoholic treatment courses in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: On 1 April 2008, a National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System (NATMS) begun operation to collect and report local and national information on the provision of structured care-planned treatment for alcohol misuse in England. Prior to 1 April 2008 there was no routine collection of data on numbers receiving alcohol treatment in England.
	The first year's data will be reported in October 2009 and will include data on the number of individuals who have completed their treatment; however, this is a new system and it may not be possible at this early stage to accurately report the number of successfully completed treatments.
	Furthermore, the data are unlikely to represent a complete picture of alcohol misusers receiving treatment. They primarily represent contact with specialist alcohol treatment services, and are therefore unlikely to include a significant number of alcohol misusers who receive interventions in primary care and/or accident and emergency departments.
	Limited NATMS data are reported on the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System website, at
	www.ndtms.net/alcohol.aspx.
	The currently available data, for those in structured care-planned treatment and for discharges, are given as follows for England and North West strategic health authority (SHA), which includes the constituency of Ribble Valley:
	
		
			   North West SHA  England 
			   Number in treatment  Discharges  Number in treatment  Discharges 
			  2008 
			 April 7,998 874 47,011 5,594 
			 May 8,554 1,037 48,206 5,495 
			 June 9,010 1,175 49,998 6,032 
			 July 9,464 1,180 51,591 6,562 
			 August 9,584 1,112 51,389 5,481 
			 September 9,802 1,109 52,865 5,885 
			 October 10,014 1,041 54,070 5,891 
			 November 9,890 721 53,280 4,172 
		
	
	It is important to note that data for November 2008 are likely to be an under-representation due to the time it takes to verify the data; additionally, there is likely to be an overall under-representation as NATMS is not yet fully established.
	We know that for some alcohol dependence can be a relapsing condition and that aftercare following the completion of treatment is needed to ensure that they maintain the benefits gained from their treatment and do not return to their previous higher-risk drinking habits.
	To aid commissioners and providers in delivering effective interventions and treatment for adults affected by alcohol misuse, the Department and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse jointly published, in June 2006, best practice guidance, Models of care for alcohol misusers (MoCAM). A copy has been placed in the Library.
	MoCAM advises that commissioners take into account the role of aftercare in helping individuals maintain the gains they have made from alcohol treatment. Aftercare can involve:
	psychosocial therapies;
	support with housing, employment and family relationships;
	structured activates, designed to monitor progress, build on successes, identify problems and ways to overcome them; and
	mutual aid and self help groups.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to NHS trusts on the use of desensitisation as a treatment for allergy; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is the responsibility of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), to assess a medicinal product intended for desensitisation as a treatment for allergy (allergen immunotherapy). The products will need to establish quality, safety, efficacy and a favourable benefit:risk profile, as for any medicinal product. Neither the MHRA nor the CHM has any objection to the principle of immunotherapy for allergy. However, in view of the small risk of life threatening anaphylactic reactions associated with immunotherapy, the CHM has, naturally, been cautious in its approach to the licensing of desensitising vaccines.
	There are three currently licensed desensitisation products:
	Grazax (Timothy grass), a sublingual tablet for patients with hay fever;
	Pollinex preparations (grasses and rye or tree pollen), for patients suffering from seasonal hay fever who have failed to respond to standard anti-allergy medication; and
	Pharmalgen (bee/wasp venom extract), for patients with hypersensitivity to bee/wasp venom.
	Each application was assessed on the scientific evidence provided taking account of the current prevailing medical and scientific opinion.

Allergies: Research

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 223-24W, on allergies: research, which aspects of allergy research his Department intends to prioritise; and what criteria are used in the allocation of funding for such research.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government's investment in health research in England is channelled through the Department via its Policy Research Programme and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council. Their usual practice is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Each organisation welcomes applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
	NIHR programmes identify and prioritise topics for research taking account of the views of those who work in, manage and develop policy for the national health service and of patients and the public. The NIHR website (www.nihr.ac.uk) provides an overview of the institute's role and functions and detailed descriptions of its various funding streams.

Cancer

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of  (a) lung and  (b) cervical cancer there were (i) in the North West and (ii) on average in all other regions in each year since 2004; and what steps have been taken in the North West (A) to prevent cancer, (B) to inform the public about the causes of cancer, (C) to provide equipment and services to treat cancer and (D) to provide palliative care for patients who are terminally ill since 2004.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows registrations of newly diagnosed cases of lung and cervical cancer in the Government office for the north-west region compared with the average of all other regions in England from 2004 to 2006.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006 
			   North-west  Others  North-west  Others  North-west  Others 
			  Lung cancer   
			 Males 3,046 1,927 2,984 1,915 2,939 1,883 
			 Females 2,241 1,302 2,365 1,355 2,373 1,344 
			
			  Cervical cancer   
			 Females 306 244 347 240 374 243 
			  Notes: 1. Lung cancer is coded to C34 and cervical cancer is coded to C53 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). 2. 'Others' is the average of all other regions in England.  3. Before the 2006 volume of Cancer Statistics, the rates in the government office regions table were crude rates. 4. In 2006, the north-west had the highest number of registrations for both lung and cervical cancer. 5. However, as there are differences in both the age profile of cancer patients between geographical areas and the population size and age profile of the nine regions in England, the unbiased way to compare cancer incidence between different regions is to calculate directly age-standardised incidence rates. Such rates, by region, are given in table five of the annual reference volume Cancer Statistics: Registrations Series MB1, available on the National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=88438Pos=ColRank=lRank=272 This shows that the north-west region has the second highest rate for lung cancer and the fourth highest rate for cervical cancer.  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	The Cancer Reform Strategy, published in December 2007, sets out guidance to the local national health service on how to improve cancer prevention, speed up the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, reduce inequalities, improve the experience of people living with and beyond cancer, ensure care is delivered in the most appropriate settings and ensure patients can access effective new treatments quickly. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to use the funds made available to them and work in partnership with strategic health authorities, local services, cancer networks and other local stakeholders to deliver these aims. Information on the work being done in the north-west can be obtained from the individual PCTs directly.
	Through the Cancer Reform Strategy's National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative, the Department, in partnership with Cancer Research UK, is co-ordinating a programme to support local interventions to increase cancer symptom awareness, and encourage people to seek help early.

Cannabis

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence his Department holds on the effects of habitual, long-term use of cannabis on  (a) physical and  (b) mental health.

Dawn Primarolo: At the request of my right. hon. Friend the Home Secretary, the Government's advisory committee on drugs, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), carried out a substantial review last year of the harms associated with cannabis use, including the physical and psychological effects of cannabis. The report, 'Cannabis: Classification and Public Health (2008)', was published in May 2008 and copies have already been placed in the Library.
	Additionally, the Department commissioned a systematic review of studies relating to cannabis and mental health. The peer-reviewed results of this review were published in the Lancet in July 2007 and confirmed the evidence of an association, possibly causal, between prior cannabis use and later development of psychosis and schizophrenia with a 40 per cent., increase in risk reported, up to a 200 per cent. increase for at-risk heavy users.

Care Homes: Standards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes in each region did not comply with minimum infection control standards in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: We are informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that its inspectors assess the performance of care homes against each national minimum standard (NMS) and rate them on a four-point scale. A score of 4 indicates that a standard has been exceeded. A score of 3 shows that it has been met. A score of 2 denotes that the standard was almost met with minor shortfallsthis indicates that one of the numerous sub-sections in the standard has not been completely met. A score of 1 means the standard has not been met.
	The following table shows the numbers and percentages of care homes with scores of two and one against the relevant NMS for Care Homes for Older People relating to hygiene and infection control for the years ending 31 March 2006-08.
	
		
			  Numbers of services per region which failed the hygiene and infection control standard (NMS for care homes for older people) 
			   As at 31 March; 
			  CSCI region  2006  2007  2008 
			 East Midlands 181 125 104 
			 Eastern 232 268 195 
			 London 173 169 142 
			 North East 123 129 97 
			 North West 282 260 180 
			 South East 457 427 365 
			 South West 307 299 268 
			 West Midlands 383 357 293 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 288 258 219 
			 Total 2,426 2,292 1,863 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentages of services per region which failed the hygiene and infection control standard (NMS for care homes for older people) 
			   As at 31 March; 
			  CSCI region  2006  2007  2008 
			 East Midlands 18 12 11 
			 Eastern 22 25 19 
			 London 21 21 18 
			 North East 22 23 18 
			 North West 18 17 12 
			 South East 23 22 19 
			 South West 20 20 18 
			 West Midlands 36 33 28 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 26 23 21 
			 Total 23 22 18 
			  Note: Figures show scores for homes which were active on the date shown and which had been inspected against NMS 26 - NMS for Care Homes for Older Peopleat some point prior to the date shown but not necessarily during that particular year.  Source:  CSCI database

Chronically Sick

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department's review of prescription charges for long-term conditions will take into account the socio-economic profile of the patient group affected by individual conditions;
	(2)  whether his Department's review of prescription charges for long-term conditions will take into account the views of patients with sickle cell disease and thalassaemia.

Dawn Primarolo: The president of the Royal College of Physicians (Professor Ian Gilmore) is carrying out the review of prescription charges that is considering how to implement the commitment to exempt patients with long-term conditions from prescription charges. The review is due to make its recommendations to departmental Ministers in summer 2009.
	The review is engaging widely with stakeholders to seek the views of patients, the public, patient representative bodies, clinicians and healthcare organisations and to take account of the specific circumstances of patients with long-term conditions. It will do this via written consultation; web based consultation, oral evidence sessions; deliberative research with patients and the public and with general practitioners; stakeholder workshops, literature review and data analysis. The Government will carry out an Equality Impact Assessment of any policy proposals that emerge from the review prior to implementation.
	The All Party Parliamentary Group on sickle cell and thalassaemia has been in contact with the review and the Sickle Cell Society has been invited to provide written evidence to the review.

Complementary Medicine

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether any NHS patient wishing to choose  (a) homeopathic treatment and  (b) other forms of complementary medicine is able to receive it from an NHS homeopathic hospital;
	(2)  what assessment the Government have made of the potential for use of complementary and alternative medicines in place of conventional drugs on the NHS.

Phil Hope: The Government consider that it is the responsibility of the national health service to make decisions on what treatments are most appropriate for their patients, including complementary and alternative medicine treatments and referrals to homoeopathic hospitals. In some cases complementary and alternative medicine treatments may be appropriate and a general practitioner would make a decision to refer taking into account safety, clinical and cost effectiveness as well as the availability of suitably qualified and regulated practitioners. The Government are currently giving careful consideration to the issue of cost but would consider the provision of such treatments would usually be complementary to, rather than provided in place of, conventional treatments.

Contraception

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training on the provision of advice on  (a) contraception and  (b) long-acting methods of contraception is available for nurses whose main duties do not relate to the provision of sexual health services.

Dawn Primarolo: Education and training for all nurses is the responsibility of their employers in light of local priorities and local assessment of training needs. The need for both general contraception and specifically long acting reversible contraception training has been identified as a priority, locally, regionally and nationally.
	Training is available from a range of professional bodies, voluntary organisations and educational establishments.

Contraception

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will review the role of termination of pregnancy clinics in providing advice on contraception;
	(2)  if he will review his policy on the provision of advice on contraception immediately following  (a) the termination of a pregnancy and  (b) repeat terminations of pregnancies.

Dawn Primarolo: As set out in the NHS Operating Framework for 2009-10, from 1 April 2009, the standard national health service contract includes the requirement that abortion service providers should provide contraception advice and treatment services. The contract specifies that providers must draw up plans, to be approved by each commissioner, to improve access for women to the full range of contraception advice and treatment during attendance for medical or surgical abortion. This should include follow up arrangements for women who do not receive contraceptive advice or treatment at the time of abortion.

Contraception: Young People

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to increase the level of awareness and knowledge amongst young people of the range of available contraceptive methods.

Dawn Primarolo: The NHS Operating Framework for 2009-10 calls upon primary care trusts to reduce teenage pregnancy rates by providing a full range of contraception services and methods.
	In support of the 26.8 million additional funding for contraceptive services, a new targeted campaign will begin this year to highlight the full range of contraception available, including long acting reversible contraception.
	We are also improving young people's access to contraceptive and sexual health advice, by making services more young people friendly and by locating services in places that fit with young people's daily lives, including in schools, further education colleges and other youth settings.

Dementia: Carers

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is available to carers of those diagnosed with dementia.

Phil Hope: The National Dementia Strategy, published in February 2009, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, highlights the need to support carers of those diagnosed with dementia. We will do this by taking forward the Carers' Strategy.
	The Carers' Strategy, Carers at the heart of 21(st) century families and communities, published in June 2008, recognises the increasingly important role that carers play in our society and acknowledges that all carers, including carers of those diagnosed with dementia, need more help and support than has been available in the past. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The strategy contains a number of commitments including information and advice, new break provision and a recognition that family carers should be involved in decisions about treatment and support.

Dementia: Expenditure

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on medical research on  (a) Alzheimer's disease and  (b) dementia in the latest year for which figures are available; and what proportion of his Department's budget this represents.

Phil Hope: National health service support for degenerative neurological disorder research and National Institute for Health Research investment in dementia research amounted in 2007-08 to 22.2 million. The Medical Research Council (MRC) spent 10.2 million on dementia research in the same year. This total expenditure of 32.4 million amounts to some 2.5 per cent. of the combined departmental research and development and MRC expenditure for the year.
	Details of expenditure on research specifically concerned with Alzheimer's disease are not available.

Departmental Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to advise staff of pension options available to them in relation to added years or additional voluntary contributions.

Ben Bradshaw: In November 2007, the Department advised its staff via its intranet about the withdrawal of the added years facility as from 1 April 2008. They were also given details of the new added pension arrangements and directed to the pension reform pages on the Civil Service Pensions website, where they could get more detailed information and could access an added pension calculator.
	Via its intranet, the Department directed staff to the civil service website which provides detailed information on the options for increasing pensionincluding the option of added voluntary contributions. Staff are also given a civil service pensions email address and telephone number, that they can use to obtain further information, and who to contact if they want specific information booklets.

Doctors and Nurses: Manpower

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many NHS doctors were working in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2008;
	(2)  how many NHS nurses were working in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2008.

Ann Keen: The following tables gives the number of national health services doctors and nurses working in England, the North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and the primary care trusts (PCTs) that make up the requested constituency. There is no geographical definition for the Tees Valley.
	
		
			  National health service nurses by specified organisations and area in England, as at 1997 and 2007 
			  Headcount 
			   1997  2007 
			 England 318,856 399,597 
			 HCHS nurses 300,467 376,737 
			 Practice nurses 18,389 22,860 
			
			 North East Strategic Health Authority area 18,598 23,419 
			 HCHS nurses 17,791 22,296 
			 Practice nurses 807 1,123 
			
			  Specified organisations with North East SHA   
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust   
			 HCHS nurses 2,077 2,300 
			 Practice nurses   
			
			 Middlesbrough PCT   
			 HCHS nurses  205 
			 Practice nurses  78 
			
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT   
			 HCHS nurses  184 
			 Practice nurses  70 
			  Notes: 1. Data as at 1 October 1997 and 30 September 2007 2. Work force data are not available by parliamentary constituencies. Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency is served by the organisations presented here. 3. GP practice nurses are not available at a comparable level any lower than strategic health authority from 1997 to 2007. 4. In 2001 Northallerton Health Services NHS Trust and South Tees Acute Hospitals NHS Trust merged to form South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust. Figures for 1997 are an aggregate of these two predecessor organisations. Data quality: Work force statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics The Information Centre for health and social care Non-medical Workforce Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): medical and dental staff( 1)  and all general practitioners (excluding retainers) by specified area in England, as at 1997 and 2007 
			  Number (headcount) 
			1997  2007 
			 England  89,619 127,645 
			 
			 North East Q30 5,033 7,090 
			 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 5KM n/a 113 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 5QR n/a 105 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust RTR 526 770 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part-time in hospitals.  Notes: GP data in 1997, as at 1 October 1997. All other data as at 30 September 2007 Data quality: Work force statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Driving Under Influence: Health Services

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of treatment of people involved in drink-driving incidents in the last year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The Cabinet Office report Alcohol misuse: How much does it cost? published in 2003(1) estimated that the cost of medical and ambulance treatment for injuries as a result of drink-driving offences recorded as crimes in England and Wales in 2001 was 31.5 million. In addition, for the same year, the Department of Transport(2) estimated that the medical and ambulance costs of fatalities from drink-driving accidents was a minimum of about 0.35 million, based upon an average of 740 for each of the estimated 480 fatalities for Great Britain in 2001.
	(1) www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/work_areas/alcohol_misuse/background.aspx,annexes,table5.1
	(2) www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/ea/ highwayseconomicsnoteno12002?page=4

Drugs: Exports

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will undertake an assessment of the potential effects on the  (a) availability of medicines and  (b) budgetary provision for the NHS of the transition of the UK from being a net importer to a net exporter of medicines.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is in regular contact with the national health service, pharmaceutical companies and wholesalers, and continues to monitor the availability of medicines. The Department and the pharmaceutical industry have published joint best practice guidelines in order to help manage the availability of medicines. A copy of these guidelines has been placed in the Library and can also be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Medicinespharmacyandindustry/Discontinuedmedicines/index.htm

Health Services: Standards

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of a quality standard, as referred to in the NHS Next Stage Review.

Ben Bradshaw: As set out in High Quality Care for All, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE'S) role will be expanded to set quality standards. The Department is currently working with stakeholders, including NICE, to develop a commonly agreed definition of a quality standard. This definition will be considered by the National Quality Board at its first meeting in March 2009.

HIV Infection: Blood

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 962W, on blood: contamination, and with reference to the answer of 25 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 362-3W, on HIV infection: blood, what analysis his Department has made of the reasons for the rate of reported deaths of haemophiliacs who contracted HIV as a result of taking contaminated blood products under the NHS between 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not made any analysis of the reasons for the rate of reported deaths of haemophiliacs who contracted HIV as a result of contaminated blood products between 2007 and January 2009.
	The figures reported in the answer given on 25 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 362-3W (399 haemophiliacs alive in 2007) came from the United Kingdom haemophilia centre doctors' organisation (UKHCDO). The figures reported in the answer given on 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 962W (345 haemophiliacs alive at the end of 2008), came from the MacFarlane Trust. Neither source can be sure their information is complete and accurate. UKHCDO acknowledge that their figures are likely to be an overestimate, while not all patients will have registered with the MacFarlane Trust.
	These figures do not mean that over 40 patients died during the period in question, because the organisations source their data in different ways.
	The UKHCDO and the MacFarlane Trust are aware of these discrepancies, and both organisations have agreed to work together in order to try to harmonise relevant data while maintaining strict confidentiality.

Hospitals: Parking

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct hospital trusts not to charge for hospital car parking for out-patients.

Ben Bradshaw: Car parking arrangements, including charges, are a matter for individual national health service bodies, based on their own local circumstances. However, guidance from the Department to support trusts in implementing parking policies, issued in December 2006, strongly recommends NHS bodies to provide free or discounted car parking to those patients and their relatives or primary visitors who have to use the car park regularly. The Department reminded NHS bodies of this in November 2008.

Hospitals: Standards

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the quality of hospital care services in all regions.

Ben Bradshaw: As part of the NHS Next Stage Review each strategic health authority published a regional clinical vision. High Quality Care for All sets out that quality should be at the heart of the national health service and sets out a quality framework to enable quality improvement at a local level.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to reduce NHS waiting lists in  (a) England and  (b) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Ben Bradshaw: From 1 January 2009, the operational delivery standards for the national health service in England are that 95 per cent. of non admitted and 90 per cent. of admitted patients will start treatment within 18 weeks of referral. These standards allow for patents who choose to wait longer or where it is clinically appropriate for patients to wait longer.
	At a national level, figures for November 2008, which are the latest available, show the majority of patients are already being seen within 18 weeks of referral. 90 per cent. of patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks and 96 per cent. of patients whose treatment did not involve admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks. The median wait for in-patient treatment has fallen to 8.1 weeks from 18.8 weeks in 1997. November data are available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/18WeeksReferraltoTreatmentstatistics/index.htm
	Figures for November 2008, which are the latest available, covering the primary care trusts and NHS trusts within the NHS North East strategic health authority (SHA), which includes the Middlesbrough and Cleveland area are set out in the tables.
	Delivery of the 18-week operational standard will reduce unnecessary delays and improve the experience that patients have of elective care and the quality of the service that they receive.
	
		
			  18 w eeks monthly RTT collection: November 2008 Commissioner returnsRTT times for completed admitted pathways 
			  SHA  Name  Treatment function code  Treatment function  Total (all)  Total (known clock start)  Total (known clock start) within 18 weeks  Percentage within 18 weeks (column  BI /column BH) 
			 Q30 North East SHA AA999 Total 15,811 15,809 14,474 91.56 
			  Notes: 1. Referral to treatment (RTT) times for patients whose 18 week clock stopped during the month with an in-patient/day case admission. 2. It is important to view this performance data in conjunction with the data completeness assessment score for each organisation. 
		
	
	
		
			  18 weeks monthly RTT collection: November 2008 Commissioner returnsRTT times for completed admitted pathways 
			  SHA  Code  Commissioner  Treatment function code  Treatment function  Total (all)  Total (known clock start)  Total (known clock start) within 18 weeks  Percentage with in 18 weeks (column BJ/column BI ) 
			 Q30 5D7 Newcastle PCT AA999 Total 1,316 1,316 1,134 86.17 
			 Q30 5D8 North Tyneside PCT AA999 Total 1,232 1,232 1,105 89.69 
			 Q30 5D9 Hartlepool PCT AA999 Total 580 580 550 94.83 
			 Q30 5E1 North Tees PCT AA999 Total 1,235 1,234 1,155 93.60 
			 Q30 5J9 Darlington PCT AA999 Total 633 633 607 95.89 
			 Q30 5KF Gateshead PCT AA999 Total 970 970 879 90.62 
			 Q30 5KG South Tyneside PCT AA999 Total 1,055 1,055 960 91.00 
			 Q30 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT AA999 Total 1,846 1,845 1,654 89.65 
			 Q30 5KM Middlesbrough PCT AA999 Total 909 909 855 94.06 
			 Q30 5ND County Durham PCT AA999 Total 3,280 3,280 3,030 92.38 
			 Q30 5QR Redcar and Cleveland PCT AA999 Total 829 829 771 93.00 
			 Q30 TAC Northumberland Care PCT AA999 Total 1,926 1,926 1,774 92.11 
		
	
	
		
			  SHA  Code  Commissioner  Treatment function code  Treatment function  Total (all)  Total (known clock start)  Total (known clock start) within 18 weeks  Percentage with in 18 weeks (column BJ/column BI ) 
			 Q30 5D7 Newcastle PCT NP999 Total 4,575 4,574 4,377 95.69 
			 Q30 5D8 North Tyneside PCT NP999 Total 3,234 3,234 3,078 95.18 
			 Q30 5D9 Hartlepool PCT NP999 Total 1,281 1,281 1,254 97.89 
			 Q30 5E1 North Tees PCT NP999 Total 2,612 2,611 2,578 98.74 
			 Q30 5J9 Darlington PCT NP999 Total 1,699 1,699 1,667 98.12 
			 Q30 5KF Gateshead PCT NP999 Total 3,592 3,591 3,437 95.71 
			 Q30 5KG South Tyneside PCT NP999 Total 3,023 3,023 2,924 96.73 
			 Q30 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT NP999 Total 4,684 4,684 4,501 96.09 
			 Q30 5KM Middlesbrough PCT NP999 Total 2,155 2,155 2,115 98.14 
			 Q30 5KM Middlesbrough PCT NPX01 Other 586 586 578 98.63 
			 Q30 5ND County Durham PCT NP999 Total 8,335 8,335 8,073 96.86 
			 Q30 5QR Redcar and Cleveland PCT NP999 Total 2,121 2,121 2,102 99.10 
			 Q30 TAC Northumberland Care PCT NP999 Total 4,339 4,339 4,154 95.74 
			  Notes: 1. Referral to treatment (RTT) times for patients whose 18 week clock stopped during the month with an in-patient/day case admission. 2. It is important to view this performance data in conjunction with the data completeness assessment score for each organisation.

Malnutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of people in each age group  (a) admitted to and  (b) discharged from hospital were malnourished in the last year in which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The data we have provided in the following table are the latest available and includes both the number diagnosed with malnutrition(2) and this as a proportion of the total admissions and last episodes (discharges(1)) into hospital for the following age groups; 0-4, 5-14, 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75-84, 85-120 where there was a primary or a secondary diagnosis of malnutrition in 2006-07.
	Admission figures do not include patients showing signs of malnutrition, who subsequently undergo tests during their hospital stay to establish the cause of their symptoms.
	
		
			  Count and proportion of all admissions and last episodes (discharges( 1) ) in hospital where a patient had a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition( 2)  during his/her stay in 2006-07, activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Age at start of episode  Total admissions where a patient received a diagnosis of malnutrition  Percentage of all admissions where a patient was diagnosed with malnutrition  Total discharges where a patient received a diagnosis of malnutrition  Percentage of all discharges where a patient was diagnosed with malnutrition 
			 Total 2,581 0.02 2,883 0.02 
			 0-4 59 0.00 63 0.01 
			 5-14 49 0.01 49 0.01 
			 15-24 97 0.01 100 0.01 
			 25-34 165 0.01 174 0.01 
			 35-44 280 0.02 291 0.02 
			 45-54 359 0.03 402 0.03 
			 55-64 371 0.02 431 0.03 
			 65-74 370 0.02 420 0.02 
			 75-84 457 0.03 521 0.03 
			 85-120 373 0.05 431 0.06 
			 Age not known 1 0.00 1 0.00 
			 (1) Discharges A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital (this includes transfer to another hospital). (2) Malnutrition is classified between the following ICD-10 codes. The ICD-10 coding for under nutrition is the same as that for malnutrition: E40 Kwashiorkor E41 Nutritional marasmus E42 Marasmic kwashiorkor E43 Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition E44 Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree E45 Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition E46 Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition O25 Malnutrition in pregnancy.

Medical Treatments

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's definition is of directly observed treatment (DOT); under what circumstances DOT is  (a) recommended and  (b) mandatory; and if will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Directly observed treatment (DOT) is one of the components of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) tuberculosis (TB) control strategy.
	The Department recommends that TB services follow the guidelines developed by the national institute for health and clinical excellence (NICE). NICE define DOT as 'direct observation by a health professional or other person such as a family member, where swallowing of the medication is observed'. DOT may also include increased contact between the care provider and patient, support and provision of incentives (e.g. food vouchers).
	NICE guidelines indicate that the use of DOT is not usually necessary in the management of most cases of TB, but all patients should have a risk assessment for adherence to treatment.
	DOT is recommended for patients who have adverse factors on their risk assessment, in particular:
	streetor shelterdwelling homeless patients with active TB
	TB patients with serious mental illness
	TB patients with drug-resistances
	TB patients with likely poor adherence, in particular those who have a history of non-adherence
	In 2007, the Department initiated a 'Find and Treat' (F and T) project to actively look for cases of TB among the homeless and other vulnerable groups in London, and to promote the use of DOT, which provides supervised medication and support to patients to improve adherence to treatment. Currently, the F and T team is helping over 300 people with TB who have challenging lifestyles to complete their treatment.
	DOT is not mandatory. The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 stipulates that a justice of the peace may, under certain circumstances, order that an individual undergo medical examination or be removed to or detained in a hospital. No-one can be forced to undertake medical treatment.

Mental Health Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department's review of anti-psychotic prescribing in care settings will be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The review of the prescribing of anti-psychotics for people with dementia will now be concluded in the spring.

Mentally Ill: Medical Treatments

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the issuing of NICE guidance on the pharmaceutical treatments for personality disorders.

Dawn Primarolo: We have had no such discussions.

MMR Vaccine

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) males and  (b) females aged under 18 in each strategic health authority area who have not been immunised against measles, mumps and rubella;
	(2)  how many children in each strategic health authority area had not received measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care publishes annual reports which include tables of the percentage of children immunised with measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at two and five years of age in each strategic health authority. A copy of the most recent annual report, 'NHS Immunisation Statistics 2007-08', has been placed in the Library. Copies of the reports titled; 'NHS Immunisation Statistics, England, 2003-04', 'NHS Immunisation Statistics, England, 2004-05', 'NHS Immunisation Statistics, England, 2005-06', and 'NHS Immunisation Statistics, England, 2006-07' have already been placed in the Library.
	Data on gender are not collected.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to take responsibility for developing clinical strategies; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: As set out in High Quality Care for All, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will be expanded to set and approve quality standards. A new National Quality Board will offer transparent advice to Ministers on clinical priorities, including the setting of quality standards.
	NICE will not be responsible for developing clinical strategies. Any future strategies produced by the Department will be aligned where appropriate with the work of NICE on quality standards.

National Quality Board

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the first meeting of the new National Quality Board to take place; and whether the terms of reference and membership for the group have been  (a) agreed and  (b) published.

Ben Bradshaw: The first meeting of the National Quality Board (NQB) is planned for the 30 of March 2009.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Darzi) announced in early December the appointment of the chief executive of the NHS (Mr. David Nicholson) as chair of the NQB and the following  ex-officio members representing the Department and the health care system:
	NHS Medical Director, Department of Health (Sir Bruce Keogh);
	Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health (Dame Christine Beasley);
	Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health (Sir Liam Donaldson);
	Director General for Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships, Department of Health (Mr. David Behan);
	Chair of the Care Quality Commission (Baroness Barbara Young);
	Chair of Monitor. (Dr. William Moyes);
	Chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Sir Michael Rawlins).
	The Appointments Commission is in the process of recruiting a further four expert representatives and four lay representatives to the board.
	We are continuing to work with stakeholders to develop the NQB terms of reference.

NHS: Drugs

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's policy is on implementation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations that are not being met routinely; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: National health service (NHS) bodies (including primary care trusts) are required by a statutory direction to fund health care interventions recommended in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals within three months of publication of final appraisal guidance. The Department has made it clear that if a particular NHS body is failing to comply with a statutory funding direction it will expect the relevant strategic health authority to ensure that action is taken to address the situation.
	Clinical guidelines and public health guidance published by NICE are not covered by the statutory direction but NHS organisations should be working towards their implementation over time.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which trusts have chosen to procure and implement an IT system different from the one selected for them by their local service provider; and what costs each has incurred in that process, broken down by cost category;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on trusts which choose to implement IT systems not provided by the local service provider for their region.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department's Health Informatics Review report, published in July 2008 was in support of the Next Stage Review. A copy has been placed in the Library. It confirmed the national health service's continuing commitment to, and belief in, the strategic information services being developed and provided by local service providers. However, it recognised and supported the wish on the part of certain trusts to realise benefits earlier by implementing interim initiatives where there is a business case to do so. Such initiatives should support the aim of enabling patient information to be available across different IT systems, different care providers and different care settings ahead of the delivery of strategic systems.
	Agreement on software requirements and system deployment plans became a responsibility of local NHS trusts from April 2007 to provide greater local ownership of the planning and deployment process. Comprehensive information of the kind requested is therefore not collected centrally.

NHS: Management

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of management in the NHS.

Ann Keen: The steps that my Department is taking to improve the quality of leadership and management in the national health service are set out in chapter five of High Quality Care for All, the final report of the Next Stage Review (a copy of which has already been placed in the Library). This report sets out a number of commitments which start early and continue throughout the career path. A new National Leadership Council, chaired by the NHS chief executive, is being established to oversee the implementation of the commitments.

NHS: Translation Services

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS interpreters in Waltham Forest primary care trust cost for  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008.

Ann Keen: The data requested are not collected centrally. National health service bodies are not required to report their planned or actual spending on interpretation and translation services to the Department. When planning such services, NHS bodies should take account of their legal duties, the composition of the communities they serve, and the needs and circumstances of their patients, service users and local populations.

Nurses

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what conditions each type of specialist nurse is trained to deal with;
	(2)  how many specialist nurses there were in each specialty in each year between 2001 and 2008.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. national health service organisations are responsible for the skill mix of their work force. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local community and must have the freedom to train and deploy staff in ways appropriate for local conditions.

Thalidomide

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has discussed with his German counterpart the matter of culpability on the part of the manufacturers in relation to the impairments caused by thalidomide in the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: We have had no such discussions in the last five years.
	A private compensation settlement was agreed with Distillers, now part of Diageo plc, the company that marketed the drug in the United Kingdom, and the Thalidomide Trust, the charitable trust established to administer annual payments to victims.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the number of animals bred for use in animal scientific procedures but not used for such purposes and put down in 2008.

Meg Hillier: We do not record the number of animals bred for use in procedures regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act but not used for such purposes and then put down. We have made no estimate of numbers for 2008. Other statistical data on animal use in 2008 under the 1986 Act are currently being collected and, when completed, will be laid before Parliament.

Animal Experiments: Primates

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-human primates from each overseas country were imported into the United Kingdom for use in research and testing in 2008.

Meg Hillier: The number of non-human primates acquired during 2008 from each overseas country for use in scientific procedures or breeding under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Netherlands 160 
			 Israel 50 
			 Mauritius 1,456 
			 Vietnam 1,036

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on the number and location of anti-Semitic incidents in London since December 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The police are keeping a close eye on anti-Semitic incidents. However, the Home Secretary has not commissioned a specific report on this issue.
	The Minister for policing and tackling violent crime (Vernon Coaker) has discussed this issue with the Community Security Trust (CST) and chief police officers. The CST have confirmed they are satisfied with the level of police co-operation and response to the matter.

Antisocial Behaviour

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the economic effects of anti-social behaviour in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: An assessment of the economic effects of antisocial behaviour over the past five years has not been made. However, a one-day count undertaken by the Home Office to understand the effect of antisocial behaviour on key service providers estimated that the cost to government agencies of responding to reports of antisocial behaviour in England and Wales was approximately 3.4 billion per year. The costs related only to the financial costs to agencies of dealing with antisocial behaviour and did not include indirect costs to local communities and businesses, as well as emotional costs to victims and witnesses.
	The cost of not taking action against antisocial behaviour is much higher.
	The National Audit Office report in 2006 found that nine out of 10 people stop behaving antisocially after three interventions. Many of these were warning letters and antisocial behaviour contracts which are voluntary measures. The success of these interventions would have prevented escalation of behaviour and the possibility of consequential court costs.

Arrests: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made in  (a) Chorley,  (b) West Lancashire and  (c) South Ribble in each quarter of the last three years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 2 February 2009
	The data requested are not collected centrally. The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) recorded by the police forces in England and Wales. Data are not available below the police force area level.

Burglary: Yorkshire and the Humber

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of  (a) theft and  (b) burglary have been reported in each constituency in Yorkshire and the Humber in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The available information on the number of offences recorded by the police is given in the following table. Recorded crime statistics are not collected at constituency level, therefore figures have been provided at crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) level.
	
		
			  N umber of offences recorded by the  p olice in the  Y orkshire and  H umber region, by crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) in 2007-08 
			  CDRP  B urglary( 1)  O ffences against vehicles( 2)  O ther theft offences 
			 Barnsley 2,348 3,070 3,868 
			 Bradford 8,592 7,964 10,505 
			 Calderdale 2,475 3,016 3,443 
			 Craven 278 283 522 
			 Doncaster 5,472 5,645 7,651 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 2,157 1,771 3,942 
			 Hambleton 578 428 867 
			 Harrogate 996 702 2,007 
			 Kingston upon Hull 5,330 4,198 9,413 
			 Kirklees 6,075 5,387 8,599 
			 Leeds 14,575 11,450 19,318 
			 North East Lincolnshire 3,376 3,710 4,791 
			 North Lincolnshire 2,455 2,101 3,376 
			 Richmondshire 213 209 344 
			 Rotherham 3,131 3,937 5,086 
			 Ryedale 339 199 514 
			 Scarborough 879 685 2,108 
			 Selby 688 582 932 
			 Sheffield 8,696 10,890 13,657 
			 Wakefield 4,433 4,190 6,784 
			 York 2,324 2,509 5,420 
			 Yorkshire and Humber region total 75,410 72,926 113,147 
			 (1) Includes burglary in a dwelling and burglary in a building other than a dwelling. (2) Includes theft of motor vehicle, theft from a vehicle, aggravated vehicle taking and interfering with a motor vehicle.

Business: Crime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of levels of crime against businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: Crimes against business that are reported to the police are recorded in national crime statistics. Some of these, such as robbery of business property, shoplifting, and theft by an employee are counted and recorded separately. The latest published statistics for these offences are for the year 2007-08 and show:
	Shoplifting decreased 1 per cent. from 2006-07 to 2007-08, from 294,282 to 290,625 offences.
	Robbery of business property decreased 3 per cent. from 2006-07 to 2007-08 from 9,454 to 9,141 offences.
	Theft by an employee decreased by 3 per cent. from 2006-7 to 2007-8 from 16,323 to 15,858 offences.
	We continually monitor trends in these crime types through the monthly submissions from police forces to the Home Office. Many crimes committed against business are, however, grouped with other un-related crimes and we are therefore planning to increase the range of business crimes which are counted separately. The separate recording of commercial burglary, for example, is being trialled in some police forces later this year.
	We recognise, however, that some business crime may not be reported to the police and so are undertaking a scoping exercise to investigate the possible scope and methodology for a new survey of commercial victimisation. Previous surveys in 1994 and 2002 have provided a fuller and more accurate assessment of levels of crime against specific sectors (small and medium sized enterprises in the retail and manufacturing sectors).
	The Government take very seriously crime committed against businesses and we are working closely with key business organisations, police and other Government Departments to tackle it. We have made it clear in our public service agreement 'Make Communities Safer', and in the policing Green Paper 'From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing Our Communities Together' that crimes against businesses should be addressed by forces and their local partners. This is backed up by the reforms set out in the Green Paper to empower local communities, which will strengthen the voice of local businesses who are at the heart of many communities, in how their neighbourhoods are policed. The National Police Improvement Agency will shortly be publishing practical guidance for police forces on how to identify and address the specific needs and priorities of local businesses.

Crime: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions Merseyside Police have  (a) closed premises that are being used for drug dealing or use causing disorder or serious nuisance,  (b) issued penalty notices for truancy,  (c) designated an area with a history of anti-social behaviour,  (d) used the new controls to tackle the misuse of air weapons and replica guns,  (e) used their new powers for dealing with public assemblies and trespassers,  (f) used their new power to move on trespassing encampments where a relevant site is available,  (g) used their new powers to intervene in neighbourly disputes regarding high hedges,  (h) issued penalty notices to 16 and 17 year olds for disorder and  (i) used their extended stop and search powers where reasonable suspicion is held that articles made, adapted or intended for use in offences of criminal damage are being carried in the last 12 months.

Alan Campbell: The information requested covers the operations of a number of different Government Departments and would require consultation between them, therefore providing the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.

Crime: Retail Trade

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members of the National Retail Crime Steering Group are; and what its terms of reference are.

Alan Campbell: The current members of the National Retail Crime Steering Group are as follows:
	Alan Campbell MP (chair): Home Office
	Stephen Robertson (co-chair): Director-General, British Retail Consortium
	Jane Milne: Director of Business Environment, BRC
	Catherine Bowen: Crime Policy Adviser, BRC
	Alan Brown: Group Security Director, Tesco
	Phillip Willsmer: Head of Operational Risk, Co-op
	Peter Kaye: Head of Business Protection, John Lewis
	Mike Cherry: Home Affairs Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses
	Rosina Robson: Senior Policy Adviser, FSB
	James Lowman: Chief Executive, Association of Convenience Stores
	John Curtis: Deputy Director, Government Office West Midlands
	David Fuhr: Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
	ACC Allyn Thomas: ACPO Business Crime lead
	Doug Russell: USDAW
	Its terms of reference are as follows:
	The purpose of a National Retail Crime Steering Group will be to drive a National Retail Crime Reduction Strategy focusing on reducing retail crime. This strategy will be based on the Terms of Reference agreed by the membership and will improve the co-ordination and delivery of retail crime reduction initiatives by all stakeholders.
	1. Assess and improve the tools available to measure the scale of retail crime nationally, and encourage CDRPs to evaluate retail crime reduction initiatives locally.
	2. Identify and document initiatives currently being undertaken by Government, police, local business crime reduction partnerships and retailers to combat crime.
	3. Identify and promote good practice for retailers to adopt in working with Government, police and local partnerships, to reduce retail crime (and the underlying causes of crime.)
	4. Assess and improve local engagement between retailers and neighbourhood police, taking into account local crime reduction plans.
	5. Investigate the opportunities for improving retailer involvement in Home Office and Ministry of Justice policy development.
	6. Encourage the retail sector to include crime prevention at the heart of all its business policies and practices.

Driving Under Influence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people were  (a) arrested and  (b) convicted for drink driving in each of the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many people in Leicester were  (a) arrested on suspicion of and  (b) convicted of drink driving in each of the last 12 months.

Alan Campbell: The information requested on arrests is not available.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery. The offence of drink driving is not a notifiable offence and does not form part of this collection.
	Available information provided by the Ministry of Justice on convictions at all courts for offences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for the year 2007 (latest available) is provided in the following table. Data for 2008 should be available in the autumn of 2009.
	The data provided cover both drink and drugs offences combined, as convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs cannot be provided separately.
	It is not possible to separately identify data for Leicester, thus data for Leicestershire police force area have been provided in lieu.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1 ) by Leicestershire police force area and England and Wales, 2007( 2,)( )( 3) 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  Findings of guilt 
			 Leicestershire 1,520 
			 England and Wales 89,223 
			 (1) Data provided cover summary offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs (which cannot be reliably distinguished separately). (2) It is known that for some police force areasthe reporting of court proceedings,in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: The Office for Criminal Justice Reform - Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Driving Under Influence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 19 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1076W, on driving under the influence, when she expects the statistics for the number of breathalyser tests by  (a) month and  (b) region for (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008 to be published.

Alan Campbell: Statistics relating to 2007 for the number of breathalyser tests by month and region will be published within the annual statistical bulletin covering Motoring Offences and Breath Test Statistics, England and Wales. This bulletin is due for publication in spring 2009. No date has yet been set for the release of the 2008 data.

Police: Recruitment

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many former police community support officers were recruited as police officers in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006,  (c) 2007 and  (d) 2008.

Vernon Coaker: The requested data are not collected centrally.

Theft

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of  (a) theft and  (b) retail theft have been reported in (i) England and (ii) North Yorkshire in each year since 2000.

Alan Campbell: The number of police recorded crimes for the main offence groups of 'offences against vehicles' and 'other theft offences (excluding shoplifting)', and separate figures for shoplifting, are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of offences recorded by the police, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			  England
			 Offences against vehicles 1,046,121 985,250 1,018,942 
			 Other theft offences (excluding shoplifting) 800,529 791,889 866,451 
			 Shoplifting 278,243 279,198 291,689 
			 
			  North Yorkshire PFA
			 Offences against vehicles 9,807 8,725 9,216 
			 Other theft offences (excluding shoplifting) 10,466 10,117 11,657 
			 Shoplifting 4,053 3,949 4,303 
			  Note: The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS). These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of offences recorded by the police, 2002-03 to 2007-08 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  England   
			 Offences against vehicles 1,012,945 925,999 770,157 745,016 718,990 617,815 
			 Other theft offences (excluding shoplifting) 949,485 947,646 894,673 864,305 822,600 770,177 
			 Shoplifting 294,062 286,440 265,789 279,908 278,241 274,168 
			
			  North Yorkshire PFA   
			 Offences against vehicles 10,697 10,614 7,463 7,938 7,057 5,597 
			 Other theft offences (excluding shoplifting) 13,059 13,826 11,114 10,343 9,613 9,022 
			 Shoplifting 4,604 4,966 3,607 3,725 3,629 3,692 
			  Note: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Roads: Accidents

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has issued on the procedure to be followed by  (a) police forces in England and Wales and  (b) prosecutors in England and Wales in seeking to obtain access to data stored on vehicle data recording devices when investigating causes of road traffic collisions; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 3 February 2009
	Accident investigation is an operational matter for the police. The Home office has issued no guidance in this area.